George "Sjoppie" Fles (; 1908–1939) was a Dutch

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

with a strong

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

conviction. He fell victim to

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's repressions.

Personal life

George was born in 1908 in Amsterdam, as the youngest son of

Louis Fles Levie Jacob "Louis" Fles (19 October 1872 – 24 May 1940) was a Dutch businessman, activist and author. He is best known for writing and broadcasting against Zionism, Nazism, and organized religion. A self-described Freethought, freethinker, Fles ...

and Celine van Straaten. He spent time in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, where he married Pearl Rimel. With his newlywed wife, he moved to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Career

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, he worked as a translator. Later he was sent to

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where he also worked as a translator. He was informally warned that he should leave, advice that he did not follow. He did send his pregnant wife back to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. George was arrested and put on trial for

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

and

Trotskyism Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

. He was convicted of Trotskyism. As he was

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

tic his health deteriorated quickly in Russian prison. His father and his brother

Barthold Fles Barthold "Bart" Fles (February 7, 1902 – December 19, 1989) was a Dutch-American literary agent, author, translator, editor and publisher. Among his many clients were Elias Canetti, Raymond Loewy, Heinrich Mann, Joseph Roth, Felix Salten, I ...

tried to have him released but to no avail. He died on May 31, 1939, in a prison near

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...

. After George's death, Pearl Rimel and their son

Michael John Fles Michael John Fles (born 11 November 1936), known both as John Fles and Michael Fles, is an American poet, editor, musician and film personality. Professor David James referred to him as "the single most important promoter of underground film" i ...

emigrated to the United States and settled in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. At the request of family members, the Soviet Union later "rehabilitated" George Fles.

Biography

Thijs Berman Thijs Berman (born 26 September 1957 in Coevorden) is a former journalist. Between 2004 and 2014, he was a Dutch politician and a Member of the European Parliament. Biography Berman was a correspondent in Paris and Moscow for Dutch weekly De ...

:
Op zoek naar George Fles, het einde van een Hollandse revolutionair in de Sovjetunie
' (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

for Searching for George Fles, the end of a Dutch revolutionary in the Soviet Union). Amsterdam: Van Gennep, 1993.

References

Sources

David Aaronovitch David Morris Aaronovitch (born 8 July 1954) is an English journalist, television presenter and author. He is a regular columnist for ''The Times'' and the author of ''Paddling to Jerusalem: An Aquatic Tour of Our Small Country'' (2000), ''Voodoo ...

: "Stalin's British victims (book review)." ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' 16 August 2004. *

Francis Beckett Francis Beckett (born 12 May 1945) is an English author, journalist, biographer, and contemporary historian. He has written biographies of Aneurin Bevan, Clement Attlee, Harold Macmillan, Gordon BrownMichael Whit"Gordon the saint – meet B ...

: ''Stalin's British Victims''. Phoenix Mill: Sutton, 2004. *

Giorgio van Straten Giorgio van Straten (born 1955) is an Italian writer and manager of arts organizations. His first novel ''Generazione'' was published in 1987. In 2000 he won four literary prizes for ''Il mio nome a memoria'', published in English as ''My Name, A ...

: ''My name, a living memory''.

South Royalton, Vermont South Royalton is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Royalton, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. With a population at the 2010 census of 694, South Royalton is the largest community in the town. It ...

: Steerforth Italia, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fles, George 1908 births 1939 deaths Dutch communists Dutch translators Dutch Jews Writers from Amsterdam Soviet rehabilitations Dutch people imprisoned abroad Dutch people who died in prison custody People who died in the Gulag 20th-century translators Jews who died in prison custody Great Purge victims Jewish atheists Dutch atheists Dutch emigrants to the Soviet Union