Mark Daniel (January 4, 1900 — November 25, 1940; birth name: Daniel- Mordkhe Meyerovich, later Mark Meyerovich) was a Jewish Soviet writer and playwright. In Yiddish he signed himself as M.Daniel (). In Russian he was known as Mark Naumovich Daniel (Марк Нау́мович Даниэ́ль). He was born in Dvinsk, Russian Empire (now

Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...

, 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 disside ...

(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'' (, '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 Jewish Labour Bun ...

" ("Four Days"), which was staged by the Moscow State Yiddish Theater starring

Solomon Mikhoels Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels ( lso spelled שלוימע מיכאעלס during the Soviet era , – 13 January 1948) was a Soviet actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. Mikhoels served as the chairman of the Jewish ...

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 Mo ...

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

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, especially among the

Soviet Partisans Soviet partisans were members of Resistance during World War II, resistance movements that fought a Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war against Axis powers, Axis forces during World War II in the Soviet Union, the previously Territories of Poland an ...

. 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 Camp

Orlyonok The Russian Children's Center "Orlyonok" () 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 the Black Sea, Krasnodar Krai, 45 ...

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

. 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 th ...

for the piece was written by

Dmitry Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

, 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 (; ; ; ‎ ''Shlomo ben Yehoshua Maimon''; 1753 – 22 November 1800) was a philosopher born of Lithuanian Jewish parentage in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, present-day Belarus. His work was written in German and in Hebrew. Bi ...

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

Notable works

"Fir teg"

"Zyamke Kapatsh"

"Johannes Guttenberg"

Other

References

Further reading