Mark Daniel (January 4, 1900 — November 25, 1940; birth name: Daniel-

Mordkhe Motke, Mordkhe, or Mordka are Jewish given names, diminutives of Mordechai. Notable people referred to as Motke include: * Motke Rosenthal, or Márk Rózsavölgyi (1787-1848), Jewish Hungarian composer and violinist *Mordechai Maklef, Mordechai ...

Meyerovich, later Mark Meyerovich) was a Jewish Soviet writer and playwright. In Yiddish he signed himself as M.Daniel ( yi, מ. דאניעל). In Russian he was known as Mark Naumovich Daniel (Марк Нау́мович Даниэ́ль). He was born in Dvinsk, Russian Empire (now

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the c ...

, Latvia).Gennady Estraikh
Daniel, M.
/ref> He was the father of

Yuli Daniel Yuli Markovich Daniel ( rus, Ю́лий Ма́ркович Даниэ́ль, p=ˈjʉlʲɪj ˈmarkəvʲɪtɕ dənʲɪˈelʲ, a=Yuliy Markovich Daniel'.ru.vorb.oga; 15 November 1925 — 30 December 1988) was a Russian writer and Soviet dissident k ...

(Yuli's mother was Minna Pavlovna Daniel, Минна Павловна Даниэ́ль.)

Notable works

"Fir teg"

The 1930 short story "Yulis" was the basis of the play "

Fir teg ''Fir teg'' ( yi, פיר טעג, 'Four Days') is a 1931 Yiddish language theatrical play written by M. Daniel. The play was based on the 1930 novel ''Yulis'' by Daniel, which dealt with the real-life personality of - a former member of General ...

" ("Four Days"), which was staged by the

Moscow State Yiddish Theater The Moscow State Jewish (Yiddish) Theatre (Russian language, Russian: Московский Государственный Еврейский Театр; Yiddish: Moskver melukhnisher yidisher teater), also known by its acronym GOSET (ГОСЕТ), w ...

starring

Solomon Mikhoels Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels ( yi, שלמה מיכאעלס lso spelled שלוימע מיכאעלס during the Soviet era russian: Cоломон (Шлойме) Михоэлс, – 13 January 1948) was a Latvian born Soviet Jewish actor and the art ...

as Yulis (the actual person: ). It turned out to be one of the most notable plays of the theatre despite criticism. Later it was staged in other places.

"Zyamke Kapatsh"

"Zyamke Kapatsh" (1936, "Zyamke Kapatsh: pyese in dray aktn, zibn bilder". Kharkov: Kinder farlag bam Ts.K.L.K.U.P.O., 1936. YI0802) "Zyamke Kapatsh" was also staged in Russian under the title "Хлопчик" ("A Lad") by

Mossovet Theatre Mossovet State Academic Theatre (Государственный академический театр имени Театр Моссовета) is one of the oldest theatres of Moscow, opened in 1923 and based at Bolshaya Sadovaya, 16. History Mos ...

. The play glorifies a heroic deed of a young boy during the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

. It is notable, in particular, because the song from the play has become popular in the Soviet Union, with its popularity sharply going up during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, especially among the

Soviet Partisans Soviet partisans were members of resistance movements that fought a guerrilla war against Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Soviet-occupied territories of interwar Poland in 1941–45 and eastern Finland. The ...

. Over time the song "Orlyonok" effected broad cultural implications in the ideology and mythology of the Soviet Union.Leonid Kaganov
как немец Фриц и еврей Зямка стали велосипедом
(How Fritz the German and Zyamka the Jew had become a Bicycle) In particular, the song gave name to the

Young Pioneer A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League ...

Camp

Orlyonok The Russian Children's Center "Orlyonok" (russian: Орлёнок, lit=eaglet) is a federal state all-year camp for kids aged 11–16 (school grades 6 through 10). It is located in the Southern Federal District of Russia, on the eastern shore of ...

and teenager's bicycle ''Orlyonok''/'' Ereliukas'' manufactured in the Soviet Union in Belarus and Lithuania. See "

Orlyonok (disambiguation) Orlyonok (literally "eaglet" in Russian) may refer to: *Orlyonok, Russian federal state all-year camp for kids, formerly a Soviet Young Pioneer camp *A-90 Orlyonok The A-90 ''Orlyonok'' (Russian: Орлёнок, English: "Eaglet") is a Soviet ...

" for more. The song from the Yiddish original had been considerably rewritten several times for ideological reasons.

"Johannes Guttenberg"

"Johannes Guttenberg" (1937). In 1939 the Russian-language version of "Johannes Guttenberg" was premiered under the title "Изобретатель и комедиант" ("Inventor and Comedian") by the Central Children's Theatre (now ). The framework of this children's play is the invention of the printing press by Johannes Guttenberg and Gutenberg's misadventures. Another protagonist of the play is Siegfried the comedian, Gutenberg's friend, the voice of

common people A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

. The

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

for the piece was written by

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky (russian: Дми́трий Бори́сович Кабале́вский ; 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Co ...

, which gave rise to his orchestral suite '' The Comedians'', commonly described as the most popular work by Kabalevsky.NY Times, 18 February 1987
/ref>

Other

Daniel's last play, "Shloyme Maimon" ("

Salomon Maimon Salomon Maimon (; ; lt, Salomonas Maimonas; he, שלמה בן יהושע מימון‎; 1753 – 22 November 1800) was a philosopher born of Lithuanian Jewish parentage in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, present-day Belarus. Some of his work w ...

") premiered in the Moscow State Yiddish Theater in 1940.

Notable works

"Fir teg"

"Zyamke Kapatsh"

"Johannes Guttenberg"

Other

References

Further reading