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Israel Shumacher

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Israel Shumacher (or Schumacher,[1] 1908 – May 21, 1961) was a Jewish comedian who worked together with Shimon Dzigan, thus forming "Dzigan and Shumacher", one of the most famous Yiddish comic duos in the 20th century.

Biography

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Israel Shumacher first met Shimon Dzigan at the Yiddish experimental kleynkunst (cabaret) stage of the theater Ararat in Łódź, Poland.[2][3]

During Second World War, the duo went through forced labor in the Gulag,[4] escaped from the Soviet Union and fled from Europe to Israel.[1] The duo played themselves at Poland's Yiddish language feature made in 1948 called "Unzere kinder", the first feature film about the Holocaust in Poland ever made where they played themselves.[5] They also had a TV show that ran during the 1970s.[1] For example, to explain Einstein theory of relativity with their own brand of humor, one would explain to the other « If you have seven hairs in your soup, it's a lot. If you have seven hairs on your head, it's very little. That's relativity ».[6]

The duo's TV and live performance was Yiddish satire that focused on their experience in the Gulag, fleeing Europe, and their experience as new immigrants to Israel.[4]

Shows

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  • On the Ship to Eretz Yisrael[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Philip Jolly (2010). Jewish Wielun - a Polish Shtetl. p. 380. ISBN 9781445287737.
  2. ^ ""Ararat" Theatre in Łódź"
  3. ^ Diego Rotman, The Yiddish Stage as a Temporary Home. Dzigan and Shumacher's Satirical Theater (1927-1980) (introduction online)
  4. ^ a b c Yael Remen (2009). Sea of Lights. Xlibris Corporation. p. 561. ISBN 9781465318886.
  5. ^ Tara Zahra (2015). The Lost Children: Reconstructing Europe's Families after World War II. Harvard University Press. p. 104. ISBN 9780674061378.
  6. ^ Harry Brod (2016). Superman Is Jewish?: How Comic Book Superheroes Came to Serve Truth, Justice, and the Jewish-American Way. Simon and Schuster. p. 58. ISBN 9781416595311.