Foreword by N. Khanin
A Foreword
This section is by Nokhum (Nathan) Khanin (1885/86–1965), Jewish socialist, labor leader, Yiddish writer, and Workmen's Circle leader. CJC Page
I read the manuscript of our comrade Morris Goldowsky with great interest.
I am a lover of memoirs. Every book or manuscript of this kind that falls into my hands, I read with the greatest interest. I have a special interest in the memoirs of people who come from shap, or who have been and are active in the Jewish workers' movement. The reason for my special interest perhaps lies in the fact that the life they have lived through is, to a great extent, also my life.
Most of the memoirs of this kind that I have read are by people who began their activities in the Old Country in the socialist or other revolutionary movements; they later came to America, remained faithful to the workers' movement, and here continued their activities with the same socialist enthusiasm as in the Old Country.
Morris Goldowsky begins his memoirs with his childhood years. A boy from a religious Jewish home, he became a socialist; precisely at that time—and in this respect he was an exception—when socialist thought among Jewish workers was dominated by the Bund, he instead became very active in the “Gvishar” socialist movement, which among us in Lithuania was known under the name “Iskra.” According to his descriptions, he was very active and went through all the paths of a revolutionary in the Old Country: prison, Siberia, etc.
When he came to America and became a presser here, he devoted his entire life to the “International.”
When I read memoirs, it is not important to me whether all the facts are historically exact, because I am certain that he has described all the facts and events as they were reflected in him and remained in his memory. And that gives a true picture of the person and of his life.
I read every chapter with great interest. Each chapter refreshed in my memory a great many moments from our life and struggle during the past 50 years. From this standpoint alone, it is an interesting book and one that reads with great interest.
The socialists of the Old Country, the active workers in the Jewish workers' movement during the past 50 years, and also the cloakmakers, will read this book with great interest.
N. Khanin