Si Frumkin (born Simas Frumkinas) (November 5, 1930 – May 15, 2009) was a

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

n-born Jew who survived imprisonment at the

Dachau , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

, and emigrated to the United States, where he became a prominent

textile manufacturer The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry process Cotton manufacturi ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

involved in issues relating to

Soviet Jewry The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "For ...

Biography

Si Frumkin was born on November 5, 1930, in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, to Mykolas and Zila (née Waisapel) Frumkinas. When the German Army invaded Lithuania in 1941, Frumkin was sent to the city's Jewish ghetto with his parents. At the time of the ghetto's liquidation in 1944, Si Frumkin and his father were sent to

concentration camp. His father died 20 days before the camp's liberation in 1945."A Tribute to Si Frumkin"
Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 2, 2009). Website accessed November 22, 2015. After the war, Frumkin studied in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and England before briefly immigrating to Venezuela, where he was reunited with his mother, who had been deported to Poland. Frumkin arrived in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 1949 and graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in 1953. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and took over Universal Drapery Fabrics, a downtown textile company. At night, he earned a master's degree in history at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

, which he completed in 1964. When Frumkin became aware of the plight of Soviet Jews in the late 1960s, he at first tried, without success, to mobilize the local Jewish Federation Council to take action on the issue. Subsequently, he devoted himself to advocacy on behalf of Soviet Jewry, and founded the Southern California Council for Soviet Jews in 1968. With Zev Yaroslavsky, Frumkin protested against Soviet cultural events in Los Angeles. In 1970, Si Frumkin,

Louis Rosenblum Louis Rosenblum (15 November 1923 – 4 April 2019) was a pioneer in the movement for freedom of emigration for the Jews in the Soviet Union, was a founder of the first organization to advocate for the freedom of Soviet Jewry Movement, Soviet Jews, ...

, Harold Light, and other local activists formed the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews as an umbrella organization for the various grassroots organizations in existence.Feingold, Henry L. (2007). "Silent No More" : Saving the Jews of Russia, The American Jewish Effort, 1967-1989. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press. As a founding member of the Association of Soviet Jewish Emigres, Frumkin assisted Soviet Jews who immigrated to Southern California settle in their new homes. Si Frumkin died on May 15, 2009, in Los Angeles, California.

References

External links

Guide to the Si Frumkin (1930-2009) Papers
at the American Jewish Historical Society, New York.
Finding Aid for the Si Frumkin Papers
at the University of California, Los Angeles Library Special Collections. {{DEFAULTSORT:Frumkin, Si 1930 births 2009 deaths Jewish American community activists Dachau concentration camp survivors New York University alumni People from Kaunas Lithuanian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews