Leah Feldman (

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

: לאה פֿעלדמאן; September 1898 – 3 January 1993), also known as Leah Downes, was an

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

-born

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

garment worker Clothing industry or garment industry summarizes the types of trade and industry along the production and value chain of clothing and garments, starting with the textile industry (producers of cotton, wool, fur, and synthetic fibre), embellishme ...

who for most of her adult life was based in London, England. Feldman was active in the

anarchist movement The history of anarchism is as ambiguous as anarchism itself. Scholars find it hard to define or agree on what anarchism means, which makes outlining its history difficult. There is a range of views on anarchism and its history. Some feel anarc ...

for almost 80 years, and towards the end of her life she acted as a last living link in the British anarchist movement to the

Russian revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, the

Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...

, and the pre-WWI Jewish anarchist movement in the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

Biography

Feldman was born to a

-speaking Jewish family in

in September 1898. The family moved to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland, while Feldman was still young and she joined a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

club when she was 12. In 1913 Feldman moved to England with some relatives, against her mother's wishes, where she began work as a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...

and first encountered the

. Feldman read Peter Kropotkin's pamphlet ''

An Appeal to the Young An Appeal to the Young is a revolutionary, anarchist pamphlet published in 1880 and written by the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin. It is one of the most successful and moving tracts by Kropotkin in favor of a Socialized economy. Content The wor ...

'' and began attending a sunday school at the Jubilee Street Anarchist Club. She took part in the Yiddish language

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

ism that was active in East London. The first world war prevented Feldman from rejoining her family in Warsaw. In May 1917, like many Russian and Eastern European

Jewish anarchists This is a list of Jewish anarchists. Individuals See also *Jewish anarchism Notes References * * * * * * * Further reading * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Jewish Anarchists Jewish * Anarchists Anarchism is a political p ...

in Britain, Leah moved to Russia to take part in the

. She met Kropotkin in Russia, and in May 1921 attended his funeral in Moscow. While some Western anarchists of the time shifted to supporting

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, fo ...

, Feldman was fiercely critical of the new Bolshevik government and remained so for the rest of her life. Feldman travelled to Ukraine to take part in the Makhnovist movement, working as a

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Nota ...

during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. In 1927 she travelled to Berlin, then lived in Paris for a year before returning to London in 1928. She had at first been denied entry to the UK, finding herself stateless, so in 1931 she married a British ex-serviceman to gain

British citizenship British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

. She continued to work as a

but found the anarchist movement in London depressing and in retreat. She lived in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

for four years in the 1930s, returning to London in 1936 where she was active in supporting the anarchist movement in the Spanish revolution. She helped push for the decision for the

Freedom Press Freedom Press is an anarchist publishing house and bookseller in Whitechapel, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1886, it is the largest anarchist publishing house in the country and the oldest of its kind in the English speaking world. It is bas ...

group to use the group's remaining assets to support the new newspaper ''

Spain and the World ''Spain and the World'' is the name of an anarchist publication initiated in response to the Spanish Civil War and the struggles of the CNT-FAI carrying analysis of events as they unfolded. In Britain, the '' Freedom Paper'' had begun to peter-o ...

''. Feldman was, alongside Lilian Wolfe, a regular

street seller A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationa ...

of the anarchist newspaper ''

Freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...

'' for many decades. She was active in campaigns relating to the

Angry Brigade The Angry Brigade was a far-left British terrorist group responsible for a series of bomb attacks in England between 1970 and 1972. Using small bombs, they targeted banks, embassies, a BBC Outside Broadcast vehicle, and the homes of Conservati ...

, the execution of

Sacco and Vanzetti Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a ...

Anarchist Black Cross The Anarchist Black Cross (ABC), formerly the Anarchist Red Cross, is an anarchist support organization. The group is notable for its efforts at providing prisoners with political literature, but it also organizes material and legal support for c ...

campaigns for anarchist dissidents in

Francoist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

, and the anti-nuclear marches of the 1960s. Feldman was registered blind after her eyesight was damaged in a bomb blast, which had been worsened by an accident in surgery. In her seventies she travelled to Warsaw to try and trace her relatives, all of whom had perished. She died in London on the 3rd January 1993.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Leah British anarchists People from Odesa People from Warsaw Milliners Furriers Ukrainian anarchists Polish anarchists Jewish anarchists 1898 births 1993 deaths Yiddish-speaking people