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the nearest circle of my
Lemberg friend. Later we came to work together with him
(during Diana Blumenfeld and my performance in Lemberg), and I
sincerely loved him. He belonged to the rare types of
theatre people who were not involved in any gossip and
theatre slander, but do their job perfectly. He had love
for the theatre in every fiber of his soul, and always
strove to play better theatre, although it was not only
him who was successful under the prevailing conditions
in the Lemberg theatre.
Meir Mestel was an example
of punctuality and discipline. [He] always was the first
in the theatre: during the rehearsals, as well as the
productions. He knew every role he received to play with
comprehension, intelligence, and what is the main thing,
he gets down to you with the greatest responsibility.
Indeed, therefore, he belongs to the Yiddish actors, who
one gladly engages for a theatre. If I have no mistakes,
it is never Meir Mestel who goes blank, although he does
not belong to the 'singing' young actors, who were so in
the style of the average Yiddish theatre.
When I have finished my
season in the 'Krakow Yiddish Social Theatre,' I
guest-starred in Lemberg, and then I toured with a
troupe in the province, and Mestel was among the first
who was engaged. To the last time I had seen him during
the eve of the Second World War, when I arrived at the
Lemberg to take over the administration of the newly
build Yidish theatre on the place of the former Gimpel
theatre. ...Soon on the first day after Lemberg was
taken by the Red Army, there a Yiddish theatre was
engaged under the direction of Shlomo Prizament, Gershon
Rot and Henryk Luft. They had played in the ' Coliseum
Theatre' on Slonetshna Street 33, and Meir Mestel
belonged to that troupe. When later the Yiddish State
Theatre in Lemberg was organized, Mestel also worked
there.
When the Germans took
Lemberg, Meir Mestel, together with a part of the troupe
from the State Theatre, were found in Rovne, where they
performed. Mestel, however, continued on to his home
and, together with the actress Ruzha Fuchs, he left and
went back to Lemberg. On the way the Germans captured
them. Ruzha from the murderous hands and returned
to Lemberg, where she later perished in a shoddy way.
Meir Mestel, the kind, beloved man and friend found his
martyred death on the way home was tormented by the
Germans."
-
"Lexicon of the
Yiddish Theatre," Warsaw, Vol. II, p. 1375.
-
Jonas Turkow --
"Extinguished Stars," Buenos Aires, 1953, Vol.
II.
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