SHOYL (SAUL) GROSFATER

SHOYL (SAUL) GROSFATER (August 2, 1904-April 20, 1961)

            He was born in Warsaw, Poland.  He studied in religious elementary school, later graduating from a business school and attending the Free Polish University in Warsaw as a student.  While still young, he joined the socialist youth movement and later the Bund.  From 1922 he was secretary of the Warsaw committee of the youth Bund, “Tsukunft” (Future).  He was also secretary of the trade unions of maintenance workers and later of the business and clerical workers in Warsaw.  He was active as well in the Jewish cooperative movement.  Until September 1939, he was living in Warsaw, later traveling through Vilna, Russia, and Japan, he arrived in Shanghai where he remained until 1945.  He later traveled via India to France.  In Paris, he was active in the Jewish labor movement and in the Bund.  He began writing in Polish, later switching to Yiddish.  He contributed to Folkstsaytung (People’s newspaper) and Yugnt-veker (Youth alarm) in Warsaw, Lodzher veker (Lodz alarm), and Unzer tsayt (Our time) in New York.  He published the pamphlet Proletaryat, a kapitl geshikhte fun der poylisher arbeter-bavegung (Proletariat, a chapter in the history of the Polish labor movement) (Warsaw, 1926), 51 pp.  From 1953 he was serving as editor of the daily newspaper Unzer shtime (Our voice) in Paris, in which he wrote under the pen names: Y. Gros, Sh. Gros, A. Dorn, and Sh. Lorman.  In 1956 he moved to the United States.  He was living in New York where he was active in the trade union movement.  He published current events articles under the name Sh. (Shoyl) Gros in Unzer tsayt, Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor), Tsukunft, and Veker (Alarm), among others.  He died in New York.