Foreword
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Foreword by the Author
With this autobiography of mine, I do not pretend to write history. I merely wanted to tell the life story of a poor Jewish boy from a religious home who, already in his earliest youth, attached himself to the liberating socialist movement; who passed through the great storms of our time—the First Russian Revolution, exile to Siberia, emigration to America, and participation in the pioneering building of the Jewish workers’ movement in America.
I have described all this here not as objective history, but as it was reflected in my life and as it forged my life. When I began writing these memoirs, I had already been active in the workers’ movement for 60 years, first in the Old Country and afterward here, in America. I was active in it continuously throughout that entire time and served it faithfully as best I could.
How much I gave to the workers’ movement I cannot judge; that can better be judged by the reader who becomes acquainted with this book. But one thing I do know: the workers’ movement personally gave me a great deal—it gave me an ideal and a rich content in life, and it helped me find a solution to many difficult moments in life.
As an expression of my loyalty to this movement, which I served throughout my life, I have written these memoirs.
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- Kahnin: see his foreword.
- Kovler: see greeting.
- Wolpert: was a labor leader; later president/executive director of the United Hebrew Trades.
I want to express my heartfelt thanks to my old good friends and comrades in the struggle, N. Khanin, Morris Kovler, Y. Fogel, and William Wolpert1, who formed the committee to publish my book. I thank them for their friendly words with which they open this book, and for their help in general, without which this book could not have seen the light of day.
Finally, I want to express my hope that these memoirs of mine will be a useful contribution to the great and glorious history of the Jewish workers’ movement on both sides of the ocean.
M. G.