Yaakov (Jacob) Birnbaum
Encyclopedia
Yaakov Birnbaum (born 10 December 1926) is the founder of Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry
(SSSJ) and many other human rights organizations. Because SSSJ was the first initiative to address the plight of Soviet Jewry, he is regarded as to be the father of the Movement to Free Soviet Jewry
. He is a son of Solomon Birnbaum
and a grandson of Nathan Birnbaum
.
Serendipitously, Mr. Birnbaum's day of birth coincides with Human Rights Day
which was established on his 22nd birthday.
, Germany
. Shortly after Nazis came to power in 1933 his father was attacked in the street. During the same period, six year old Yaakov was surrounded by neighboring German boys who swarmed into the garden and stuffed his mouth full of dirt. The family managed to reach England
but Hitler's voice screaming "the accursed Jews" still dominated their lives. In 1938 and 1939 Yaakov went to school with refugee children who were brought out from Central Europe at the last moment in "kinder transporten" organized by Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schonfeld. He later studied modern European history at University of London.
During World War II
the Birnbaums were well aware of the plight of European
Jews
under Nazi occupation and agonized over their inability to help out, especially relatives.
where from 1946 to 1951 he helped survivors of Nazi concentration camps
and Soviet labor camps - Jews
from Poland
, USSR, Czechoslovakia
, Hungary
. He later worked to help North African Jews
fleeing the civil war in Algiers.
and Soviet communism, Mr. Birnbaum felt that an all-out effort should be made by U. S. Jewry to combat the Kremlin's oppression of Soviet Jews
. He decided to create a national student movement to act as a spearhead to mobilize the grassroots to transform Washington into the protector and rescuer of Soviet Jewry. In 1964 he moved to New York City
and on 27 April of that year he convened a New York metropolitan student meeting at Columbia University
. The meeting was an emotional one. The theme was that the Holocaust should be taken as a warning and the civil rights movement as a model for grassroots action. Within four days some 1,000 students rallied in front of the Soviet U.N. Mission. He called the new group "Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry" (a play on the Marxist term "class struggle") and his first office operated out of his bedroom. In its recent timeline of 350 years of American Jewish history, the Center for Jewish History marked 1 May 1964 as the beginning of the public movement for Soviet Jewry.
Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry
The Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, also known by its acronym SSSJ, was founded in 1964 by Jacob Birnbaum to be a spearhead of the US movement for rights of the Soviet Jewry.-“Let My People Go” foundation period in 1960s:...
(SSSJ) and many other human rights organizations. Because SSSJ was the first initiative to address the plight of Soviet Jewry, he is regarded as to be the father of the Movement to Free Soviet Jewry
Movement to Free Soviet Jewry
The Movement to Free Soviet Jewry was an international human rights campaign that advocated for the right of Jews in the Soviet Union to emigrate....
. He is a son of Solomon Birnbaum
Solomon Birnbaum
Solomon Birnbaum, also Salomo, Solomon A or Solomon Asher, was a Yiddish linguist and Hebrew paleographer.-Career:...
and a grandson of Nathan Birnbaum
Nathan Birnbaum
----Nathan Birnbaum was an Austrian writer and journalist, Jewish thinker and nationalist. His life had three main phases, representing a progression in his thinking: Zionist phase ; Jewish cultural autonomy phase which included the promotion of the Yiddish language; and religious phase...
.
Serendipitously, Mr. Birnbaum's day of birth coincides with Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honor the United NationsGeneral Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights...
which was established on his 22nd birthday.
Early life
Yaakov Birnbaum was born in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Shortly after Nazis came to power in 1933 his father was attacked in the street. During the same period, six year old Yaakov was surrounded by neighboring German boys who swarmed into the garden and stuffed his mouth full of dirt. The family managed to reach England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
but Hitler's voice screaming "the accursed Jews" still dominated their lives. In 1938 and 1939 Yaakov went to school with refugee children who were brought out from Central Europe at the last moment in "kinder transporten" organized by Rabbi Dr. Solomon Schonfeld. He later studied modern European history at University of London.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the Birnbaums were well aware of the plight of European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
under Nazi occupation and agonized over their inability to help out, especially relatives.
After the war
As the war ended in 1945 Yaakov Birnbaum moved to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
where from 1946 to 1951 he helped survivors of Nazi concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
and Soviet labor camps - Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, USSR, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He later worked to help North African Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
fleeing the civil war in Algiers.
Fight for Soviet Jewry
With his experience of NazismNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and Soviet communism, Mr. Birnbaum felt that an all-out effort should be made by U. S. Jewry to combat the Kremlin's oppression of Soviet Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. He decided to create a national student movement to act as a spearhead to mobilize the grassroots to transform Washington into the protector and rescuer of Soviet Jewry. In 1964 he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and on 27 April of that year he convened a New York metropolitan student meeting at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. The meeting was an emotional one. The theme was that the Holocaust should be taken as a warning and the civil rights movement as a model for grassroots action. Within four days some 1,000 students rallied in front of the Soviet U.N. Mission. He called the new group "Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry" (a play on the Marxist term "class struggle") and his first office operated out of his bedroom. In its recent timeline of 350 years of American Jewish history, the Center for Jewish History marked 1 May 1964 as the beginning of the public movement for Soviet Jewry.