YONIA FAIN

Born: 1914, Russia

Describes leaving Warsaw after the German invasion of Poland (interview 1999)

TRANSCRIPT
We walked out from the city and outside of Warsaw we met many, many, many people. Most of
the time young people who didn't want to be captured by the Germans and went to the eastern
part of Poland, uh, believing that some sort of resistance would be organized. Where did we
get the food? Where did we get the water? Where did we get places to sleep? The little towns
on our way were burning and the people left them. They ran out. In the countryside the
peasants came... the peasants came out and they gave us food. They said, "Take it, eat it. We
don't want to wait with all our, uh, cows and pigs and horses for the Germans. You are our
brothers." It was an atmosphere of fear and expectation. Uh, on the way we were all the time
bombarded by the Germans' Luftwaffe [air force] and many peoples were killed. And finally,
we went to the eastern part of Poland...to the eastern and, uh, southern part of Poland. And at
that time we all of a sudden got the news that Poland will be divided between Stalin's Russia
and Hitler's Germany. And we didn't know what to expect.
After World War I, Yonia's family moved to Vilna. Yonia studied painting and graduated
from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vilna. When Germany invaded Poland in September
1939, Yonia was living with his wife in Warsaw. They fled to Brest-Litovsk in eastern
Poland, occupied by Soviet forces in mid-September 1939. Then Yonia and his wife escaped
to Vilna. After the Soviets occupied Vilna in June 1940, Yonia and his wife forged Japanese
transit visas and left for Japan. In Japan, they were unable to obtain valid visas for another
country and were forced to remain. Japanese authorities required them to relocate to
Shanghai in Japanese-occupied China in the fall of 1941. They remained in Shanghai for the
duration of the war. In 1948, Yonia and his wife immigrated to Mexico. In 1956, Yonia
immigrated to the United States.
Russia, b. 1913

YONIA FAIN

In addition to being a renowned artist and award-winning poet, Yonia Fain is among the few
survivors to triumph over the turmoil of the 20th century. Fains abundant body of artwork and
poetry pays tribute to the hardship many experienced during the Russian Revolution, Nazi
invasion of Poland, and World War II. The persecution Fain experienced forced him to
immigrate to several countries including China, Mexico, and the United States.

Yonia Fain was born in Russia in 1914. When he was only 10-years-old, he and his family fled
from the Bolshevik Revolution to Poland. There he pursued his studies at the Academy of Fine
Arts and hoped to continue his education in Paris. He was awarded B.A. and M.F.A. degrees
from the University of Poland. In 1939, the artist and his wife Helen moved to Warsaw when
the town they lived in, Vilna, became occupied by the Soviet Union. Although they managed to
escape the Nazis, Fain was apprehended by Soviet military and incarcerated. After he and his
wife were released into Russia, they procured Japanese transit visas. Before the the bombing
of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese shipped his family to a ghetto for Polish Jewish refugees in
Shanghai, China. Throughout the remaining war years, Fain earned a living by painting
individual portraits of Chinese militia and officials.
The tumultuous years of the war left Yonia Fain with no desire to return to Europe. In 1946, a
friend of Fain sent samples of his art to the established Mexican artist, Diego Rivera. The
muralist was so affected by Fains pieces that he sponsored a visa for the Fain family to
Mexico. While there, Fain collaborated with Diego Rivera, learning the politics and skill of mural
painting. During his years in Mexico, he had several exhibitions. All the while, Rivera
encouraged Fains artistic merit and development by writing essays for his exhibition catalogs.
His stay in Mexico came to a close when artist Rufino Tamayo urged him to move to New York
and recommended him for an art instructor position at the Brooklyn Museum. In addition to
painting and exhibiting his work in the New York galleries of the day, he taught at New York
University from 1964 until 1970. That same year, Fain was invited by the faculty of Hofstra
University to teach the history and philosophy of art where he remained for over a decade.
Throughout his life, Fain has had several solo shows and his body of art has been included in
exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Butler Institute of American Art, AlbrightKnox Gallery, Chrysler Art Museum, London Jewish Cultural Centre, and at the Carnegie
International. Moreover, Fain is an awardwinning Yiddish poet who has won international
recognition with his books A Gallow Under the Stars, Beloved Strangers, New York Addresses,
and The Fifth Season. Well into his nineties, Yonia Fain continued to create art shaped by his
travels and struggles. The artist believed there was a reason for his survival and that through
his work he was able to chronicle the calamities he witnessed. Fains paintings, drawings, and
poems seek to honor the many who perished and who were unable to inspire or teach future
generations.

11/07/2003
by Julia Goldman
Staff Writer
When history touched Yonia Fain's life, it hit with gale force. For 30 years he was
"dragged by the storm of events over half a world," the Brooklyn-based painter and
Yiddish poet once wrote.

Between 1923 - when a 9-year-old Fain and his family fled Bolshevik Russia, and
1953 - when he settled in New York City - Fain outran Nazi troops in Poland, was
imprisoned by the Soviets, escaped to Japan, was deported to China and eventually
made his way to safety and artistic success in Mexico.
English follows Yiddish. Poems follow biography.
Dem 6stn detsember 2013 hot di yidishe literarishe velt gelitn nokh a shvern klap. In Bruklin,
NY iz avek in der eybikeyt der shrayber un moler Yoni Fayn. Fayn iz geven fun di zeltene
yekhidim vos zayn lebns-geshikhte shtelt mit zikh for a kapitl yidishe geshikhte. A geboyrener
in Kamenets-Podolsk, iz er in 1924, tsu 10 yor, fun dortn avek ven der tate, a Menshevik, hot
gefirt di mishpokhe tsu ersht keyn Varshe un dernokh keyn Vilne kedey tsu antloyfn fun
milkhome un politishe umruen. In der heym hot men geredt Rusish ober in der dortiker yidisher
shul vu der tate iz geven a matematik-lerer hot Fayn zikh oysgelernt Yidish. Zint zayne yunge
yorn hot Fayn zikh oysgedrikt say in kunst say in shraybn. Beyde formen kontsentrirn zik af der
payn un umyoysher funem tsvantsikstn yorhundert un vaksn aroys fun zayne tife perzenlekhe
ibertsaygungen. Tsu 16 yor iz er arayn in Bund un shpeter, voynendik in Varshe, hot er gearbet
farn Bund bam boyen a kegnshtel kegn di Daytshn un poylishe fashistn.
Beshas der milkhome hot Fayn gefunen a mokem-miklet in Kobe, Yapan un dernokh in
Shankhay, Khine af zeks yor. Dortn hot er gemoln un geshribn poezye. Zayn ershter band, A
tlie unter di shtern, iz aroys ersht shpeter in 1947, in Meksike, nisht lang nokh dem vi er hot
dortn imigrirt. In Meksike iz Fayn gevorn a lerer fun der yidisher literatur in dem dortikn yidishn
lerer-seminar.
Glaykhtsaytik hot er tsugetsoygn dem ufmerk funem barimtn kinstler Diego Rivera vos hot
aranzhirt an oysshtelung fun Fayns bilder in dem prestizhfuln Palatso de Beyas Artes. Zayn
vantgemel gevidmet di korbones funem khurbn hengt ad-hayem in dem Panteon Izrealita afn
ashkenazishn beys-oylem in der shtot Meksike. In 1953 hot Fayn khasene gehat mit zayn froy
Helen, an amerikaner zhurnalitstn, un zey hobn zikh bazetst in Nyu-york. Er hot gelernt kunst
un kunst-geshikhte un iz gevorn a profesor fun kunst in Hofstra Universitet biz er hot zikh
pensyonirt in 1983. In Nyu-york hot er oykh dergreykht groys khshives vi a yidisher shrayber. In
1983 hot er aroysgegebn a band lider, Gute orkhim, un gor letstns, in 2008, iz aroys a nayer
band lider, Der finfter zman. A zamlung dertseylungen, Nyu-yorker adresn, iz aroys in 1995.
Fayns poezye un proze hobn zikh gedrukt in di vikhtikste yidishe zhurnaln vi Di goldene keyt,
Undzer tsayt un Di Tsukunft., fun velkhn er iz yorn lang geven der redaktor.
In 1991 iz im tsugeteylt gevorn di Manger-premye. In an intervyu vos ikh hob opgehaltn mit im
in 2000 hot er gezogt, Dos gantse shraybn mayne hot tsu ton mit yekhidim, oder mit zeyere
kinder, vos hobn epes farloyrn un vos viln boyen a naye heym. Fayn iz a beemes moderner
shrayber vos zayn netie optsuvisn di grenetsn tsvishn poezye un proze, kholem un realitet,

moln un shraybn kumt shtark tsum oysdruk in zayn arbet. Af vifl ikh veys iz zayn dertseylung,
Der hotel, (Nyu-yorker adres) di eyntsike dertseylung zayne vos iz aroys in der englisher
iberzetsung. Es iz opgedrukt gevorn in Pakn Treger, dem zhurnal fun yidishn bikher-tsenter,
harbst 2000 ibergezetst fun mir, Sheve Tsuker. A film Yoni Fayn: Mit pen un pendzl, af yidish
mit englishe unterkeplekh, untern rezhi fun Dzhash Valetski, produtsirt fun der Yidish-lige, vet
aroys in 2014. Ikh breng do dray lider kedey der leyenen zoln a bisl krign dem tam fun zayn
poezye. Ale dray lider zaynen gedrukt gevorn in Fayns bikhl Der finfter zman. Dos ershte lid,
Bay mayn vigl un di iberzetsung gefinen zikh ba mayn blog: Liderlikht: Yidishe lider vegn
mames shevazucker.com/blog tsuzamen mit nokh eyn lid vegn zayne tate-mame.
BAY MAYN VIGL
Bay mayn vigl
Mayn zun, siz tsayt zikh uftsukhapn,
Hot
mayn tate gezogt
Ober di mame hot oysgemurmlt:
,,Loz im, nokh a rege,
vayter kholemen.
Di velt vet nit antloyfn.
Ven ikh hob zikh in mitn
nakht fun bet ufgerisn
Un tsum fentster tsugelofn,
Khhob derzen az mayn
shtibl
Vert fun tseshoymte khvalyes getrogn
Un svet bald untergeyn.
Un
khbin durkhn fentster aroysgeshprungen
Un in a shvimendikn boym zikh
ongekhapt,
Un mayn mames verter zaynen far mir ufgegangen,
,,Loz im, nokh
a rege, kholemen.
Un khbin zikher geven az khvel
Tsu a gutn breg
dershvimen.
*Der finfter zman *YIDISH-SHTOKHIM
Vayl mayn
loshn

Vil veynik-ver itst redn

Red ikh tsu zikh aleyn
Mer vi es past
far aza eynem,
Vos iz nokh alts bam fuln zinen.
Khvil gornit
dervayzn,
Ikh red bloyz,
Vayl lib iz mir bizkl oysgeyn
Dos
vandreven
Durkh shtokhim fun Yidish.
Verbes zenen dortn
mames,
Horizontn zilberne shmeykhlen,
Un ozeres tife
balades.
On Yidish volt dos broyt
Nit gezetikt mayn hunger
Un di
vunders fun der velt
Voltn nit gehat genug verter
Bavundert tsu
vern.
A flants lozt zikh iberflantsn,
A toyshev iberzetsn,
Dokh a
lid ibergezetst
Iz a regn-boygn on a himl,
Un a tsapl
aribergetrogn
Varft zikh in a meshugoim-hemdl.
In Yidish shteyen mir
tsukopns
Voglers mit fule zeklekh shtern,
Un bloyz Yidish kon

oystaytshn
Dem zinen fun tsekrigtn lebn.
*Der finfter zman
*
IKH GLEYB
Ikh gleyb az der kval kholemt tsu dergreykhn dem
taykh,
Un der taykh dem yam.
Un ikh gleyb az dos tsetrotene grezele
Hot
nit gegrint umzist,
Azoy zikh stam.
Ikh gleyb az der yo un der
neyn
Viln eyner tsum tsveytn dergeyn,
Un az friling,
Ven snemt
regenen
Shmeylkhlt afile a shteyn.
Un ikh gleyb
Az ven der umru fun
zeyger geyt oys
Iz der zeyger nokh alts ful mit tsayt,
Un az dos tayere
iz shtendik noent
Un dos groyse shtendik vayt.
Un khotsh khbin nit
zikher tsi mayn gloybn
Iz nit mer vi an eygene zakh,
Fil ikh im vi dem
bri
Fun an ongeglitn ayzn.
Un ikh gleyb az der solovey zingt
Nit kedey
epes tsu dervayzn.

Un ikh gleyb az der kneytsh in mayn shtern

Shnaydt zikh
in mayn moyekh arayn
Vos pruvt a veg tsum himl gefinen
Un ikh gleyb, un
ikh gleyb,
Az mayn farloyrnkeyt gart mayn libshaft tsu dinen.
Un ikh
gleyb mitn gantsn hartsn,
Khotsh mayn harts iz fun lang shoyn
tseshpoltn
Un fun shteyner tsunoyfgeklept,
Az der mentsh, vos hot tsum
lebn gezogt A dank,
Hot nit umzist gelebt.
***
December 6, 2013 the world of Yiddish literature suffered another great loss. Writer and painter
Yonia Fain passed away in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of those unique figures whose life
story encapsulates a piece of Jewish history. Born in 1914 in Kamenetsk-Podolsk, he left it in
1924 at age 10 when his father, a Menshevik, took the family first to Warsaw and then to Vilna
to escape war and political unrest. It was here, in the secular Yiddish school where his father
taught mathematics, that Yonia learned Yiddish. From his youth Fain has expressed himself
both as an artist and a writer. Both his art and writing which focus on the anguish and injustice
of the 20th century have been shaped by his deep personal and political commitments. As a
young man living in Warsaw, he worked for the Jewish Labor Bund as it sought to build a
resistance against the Germans and the fascist Poles.
During the war Fain sought refuge in Kobe, Japan, and then in Shanghai, China for six years.
There he painted and wrote poetry. His first volume, *A tlie unter di shtern* (A gallows under
the stars), came out shortly after he emigrated to Mexico in 1947. There he taught Yiddish
literature in the local Jewish Teachers Seminary and attracted the attention of the artist Diego
Rivera, who arranged an exhibit of his paintings at the prestigious Palacio de Bellas Artes.
Fains mural dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust still hangs in the Pantheon Israelita in
the Ashkenazic cemetery in Mexico City.
In 1953 Fain married his wife Helen, an American journalist, and the couple moved to New
York where he became a professor of art at Hofstra University. He also achieved great
prominence as a Yiddish writer, publishing two more volumes of poetry: *Gute orkhim* (Good

guests; 1983) and *Der finfter zman* (The fifth season; 2008), and a collection of short stories,
*Nyu-yorker adresn* (New York Addresses, 1995). He has published widely, both poetry and
prose, in major Yiddish journals such as *Di goldene keyt*, *Undzer tsayt* and *Di tsukunft*
which he edited for many years. In 1991 he won Israels coveted Manger Prize for Yiddish
Literature.
In an interview I conducted with him in 2000 Fain said, All of my writing is about people, or
their children, who have lost something and want to build a new home. Fain is a truly modern
writer whose desire to erase the borders between poetry and prose, dream and reality, painting
and writing is often powerfully represented in his work.
Thus far, to my knowledge, only one of Fains stories, The Hotel, has appeared in English
translation. It was translated by myself and published in the *Pakn Treger*, Fall 2000. A film
Yonia Fain: With Pen and Paintbrush in Yiddish with English subtitles, directed by Josh
Waletzky, will be released by the League for Yiddish in 2014. I would like to offer three of his
poems along with English translations by myself so that the reader may get a taste of his
poetry. All three poems were published in Fains book, *Der finfter zman* (The Fifth season).
The first poem, At My Cradle and my translation can be found on my blog: Candles of Song:
Yiddish Poems about Mothers shevazucker.com/blog along with one other poem about his
parents.
At My Cradle
My son, its time to wake up,
My father said
But my
mother murmured:
Let him, for another moment, keep dreaming,
The world
will not run away.
When in the middle of the night I awoke from my bed
with a start
And ran to the window,
I saw my house
Being carried by
frothy waves
Soon to disappear.
And I jumped out of the window,
And

grabbed onto a floating tree,

And my mothers words rose up before
me,
Let him, for another moment, keep dreaming.
And I was certain that I
would
Make it to a safe shore.
Tr. Sheva Zucker
Yiddish
Domains
Because my language
Is now spoken by so few people
I
speak to myself more than befits
Someone still in charge of all his
faculties.
I dont want to prove anything,
I just talk,
Because I
love to death
Wandering
Through domains of Yiddish.
Willows there
are mothers,
Horizons silver smiles,
And lakes deep
ballads.
Without Yiddish, bread
Would not satisfy my hunger
And the
wonders of the world
Would not have words enough
To express my
wonder.

A person with a home can be relocated,

A plant
transplanted,
Yet a poem in translation
Is a rainbow without a
sky,
And a fresh quiver transported
Trembles in a
straight-jacket.
In Yiddish there stand at my head of my bed
Wanderers
with sacs full of stars,
And only Yiddish can interpret
The meaning of
quarrelsome life.
Tr. Sheva Zucker
I Believe
I
believe that the spring dreams of reaching the river,
And the river the
ocean.
And I believe that the trodden blade of grass
Has not grown green
in vain,
For no reason whatsoever.
I believe that Yes and No
Want
to reach each other,
And that in spring,
When it starts to rain
Even a
stone smiles.
And I believe
That when the pendulum of a clock stops
swinging
The clock is still full of time,

And that that which is dear is

always close
And that which is great always far.
And although Im not
sure if my belief
Is anything more than a personal thing,
I feel it like
the scald
Of a red-hot iron.
And I believe that the nightingale
sings
Not to prove anything.
And I believe that the wrinkle in my
forehead
Penetrates into my mind
That is trying to find a way to the
heavens
And I believe, and I believe,
That my lostness yearns to serve my
love.
And I believe with all my heart,
That although my heart has long
been shattered
And pasted together with stones,
That the person who had
said Thank you to life
Has not lived in vain.
Tr. Sheva
Zucker