Leon Kristol was born on August 10, 1894 in Shargorod, Podolia Gubernia, Ukraine. His parents were artisans. He learned in a cheder, in a private folksshul, and with a teacher At the age of fourteen, he went away to Odessa, where he was an extern and was engaged in teaching.

In July 1915 he came, together with his father to America, where for the first several years he worked in a shop, while at the same time in the evening studied civil engineering at Cooper Union Institute in New York.

In 1917 he began to publish various literary works in Yiddish: stories and songs, original and translations, in "Tog," "Fraye arbeter shtime," contributed to "Der groyser kunds," and in the daily, "Di tsayt."

Since 1918 he is connected with the Yiddish theatre, at the beginning as the literary secretary, and then manager of Schnitzer's "New Yiddish Theatre," for which he sat over a whole range of plays, such as "Samson and Delilah" by Sven Lange (staged on 23 April 1919), Count Tolstoy's "The Power of Darkness," (staged on 23 May 1919), the one-acter, "A night in Kretshme" by Lord Danseini (played here).

Kristol later went over as the literary leader and manager for Maurice Schwartz in his "Yiddish Art Theatre," where there staged Kristol's translation  on 20 November 1922 of Moliere's "Don Juan" (The Eternal Lover). It was also performed in other theatres anonymously. Kristol's translations of Osip Dymow's plays, "Di shklafn fun folk," "Nyu," "99 rebinim" (under the name, "Dem rebin's khasene"). Kristol also dramatized in Yiddish Dostoevsky's novel, "Der idiot."

Kristol also, with H. Lang, dramatized the novel, "Di umgliklekhe kale fun sofolk strit (The Unfortunate Bride of Suffolk Street" by Eva Lazarov (H. Lang), where it was staged on 29 October 1931 in the "Prospect Theatre."

In the "Fraye Arbeter Shtime" of 30 November 1918, Kristol published his translation of "Industrieler riter" (a comical exaggeration in one act) by A. Avertshenko.

Kristol also translated Shakespeare's "Der koyftan fun venedig (The Merchant of Venice)," Vedekind's "Frilings ervakhn," Luigi Pirandello's "Zeks kharkters, vos zukhn a farfaser," had edited the monthly journal (two issues), which the Yiddish Art Theatre had begun to publish in 1921.

About the period, Maurice Schwartz wrote:

" ... Kristol was connected with me in the "Irving Place Theatre," and afterwards in the "Art Theatre" at Madison Square Garden, and if the "Forward" had not taken him from me, I would have had the most practical theatre manager in him. He knew how to talk to organization representatives for benefits. He knew how to speak to the actors, and he was the best representative for the Art Theatre in every year of his existence. ... Being a man of the world, he was attracted to the Art Theatre, not only new playwrights, but also the greatest English critics of that time. ... On a beautiful day he brought us the poet H. Leivick, and I was really forced to read his play "Shmates (Rags)." ... Kristol prepared a kind of speech, on the eve of the beginning of the performance. ... For the theatre (Kristol's going over to the "Forward"), it was a great loss, because when he was manager, I could give myself completely to the stage. He had already lost everything, even the English publicity. Years later he often wrote theatre reviews in the "New York Sun." ... Kristol stayed connected to the "Art Theatre," also later. ... We often met and planned the repertoire for the "Art Theatre." ... Kristol helped us issue a theatre journal -- "Our Yiddish Theatre" for which he was the director. The journal made an impression. ... Kristol would also be a good actor. He played the role of "Pniekhes" in Moshe Nadir's "Success" with a lot of tact and intelligence, that it was really amazing how an untrained theatre person could dominate the stage like that."

Kristol wrote regularly weekly reviews about Yiddish theatre in the English daily newspaper, the "Evening World" in New York.

Kristol very often wrote critiques and treatises about literature and theatre. Most of the time in the "Fraye Arbeter Shtime," but also often in the "Forward' (partly under the name G. Rivesman), where he was one of the most important contributors since 1922, publishing there articles about all the actual problems and questions, being the representative in the "U.N.", and printed, built on the frequent trips across the world, including the Soviet Union.

Kristol also for several years was the President of the I.L. Peretz Yiddish Writers' Union in America.

Kristol on 21 August 1959 passed away in New York.

L. Hendin characterized him thusly:

"Leon Kristol came to America from a small, Ukrainian town Shargorod, at the age of twenty. He came with a baggage of Yiddish and Russian knowledge. That he had fundamental Yiddish knowledge, one could see from this that he was qualified as a teacher in a Yiddish school. However he continued his studies in Cooper Union as an engineer, and that's how he fully Americanized himself and knew a better America, as many who boast that they arrived on the ship, the "Mayflower." ... Instead of becoming an engineer, he had only interested himself and was connected with the Yiddish theatre. ...When he joined the "Forward" forty years ago, indeed his main knowledge was about Yiddish theatre. But Kristol never rested and stood in one place. It did not take him long, and he became one of the best, new writers that, as far as reportage is concerned, it can be said that there was no equal to him. So I believe that I am not exaggerating that he was one of the best Yiddish city editors (ask-news editors). .. Kristol was an encyclopedist. He considered from his point of view that everything that is human should not be foreign to him, and everything that has a relationship with the writing profession he must rule. ... He was well versed in Russian literature, and he had a special love for the great Russian writer Tolstoy, and had written a biography abut Tolstoy. ... Franklin Roosevelt made a strong impression on him, and he didn't rest until he wrote a very interesting biography about the "New Deal" president. ... In the last ten years ... He devoted himself mostly to journalism and he was the "Forward"-correspondent in the United Nations. In the last ten years he also had a program on the radio, in which he also excelled. The most remarkable feature was that when he used to leave from one type of work to another, he did not lose his interest in his previous work. That's how he maintained his interest in Yiddish theatre. ... In the last several years he twice visited Russia, and he also visited Romania and Poland and from there sent back reports which made an impression. Since the emergence of the Jewish state, he has visited Israel three times. .. He possessed a hot temperament. He used to get angry quickly, but the anger used to leave him immediately. ... he had a unique and complex personality ... Kristol was very lively and eloquent in society. He always talked about it, and he had something to say. In society he always made a good and a strong impression."

Melech Ravitch writes:

" ... Leon Kristol had ... love , that one should call him a journalist, and with his mouth full. ... With his human approach to people, also famous personalities and also simple folks, he won their loyalty and they told him the truth. but Kristol also used to know what do do with the truth. He used not to make a sensation out of it, but to make the truth out of the sensation. ... Kristol really was the tragic news-bringer of the destruction of the Yiddish writer in Russia in the year 1956. The cruel act took place already in the year 1952. ... A stern, serious face, eternally pale, speaks directly, sharply, American, a little arrogant, but this has always been the aggressiveness of well-researched facts. He could also be sociable and warm. A perfect journalist blessed by God. Future Jewish historians will seek out his articles."

And Chaim Liberman writes:

"He was the best and most beautiful companion in our environment. He was naturally the other half of each one of us. He could literally pull himself out for that one, stop living for himself and live only for that -- but he never sought the same back for himself. Not then, not later. Not completely and not a little. Leon Kristol was the great master advisor, the good man, the wise man, the insightful advisor to hundreds. He was a fellow human being to everyone, but by himself he was a lonely and withdrawn person. .. In the role of a new editor, his clear expression, his tight-fitting sentences also slipped out.
His short-cut prose with which in the last years he has wonderfully excelled in his article, and had earned himself popularity in the entire Yiddish world. .. His two biographies, of President Franklin Roosevelt and of Leo Tolstoy, were a jewel in Yiddish literature. His trip writings of the Soviet Union and of Romania, besides their great historical worth, also had a great literary worth. ... He will always stand before our eye as a man of fashion [?], a graceful person, an attractive person with a vibrating face, ready in a second for a new leap into a new undertaking."

According to Zalmen Zylbercweig, in his great interest for Yiddish theatre, Kristol impressed the famous American art patron, the Jewish banker, Otto H. Kahn, that he should subsidize the project of opening a Yiddish artistic theatre in the Bronx, during the absenteeism of the Maurice Schwartz theatre on 180th Street, where it staged the dramatization of Asch's "Toit-Shtrof (Capital Punishment)." However, it did not give Kahn any further interest in other Yiddish, literary-artistic enterprises.

-- M.E.

• Zalmen Reisen -- "Lexicon of Yiddish Literature," Vol. III, pages 774-775.
  

• Hillel Rogoff -- "Der gayst fun "forverts," New York, 1954, pages 262-65.
  

• (--) -- Leon Kristol toyt, "Forward," N.Y., 24 August 1959.

• S. Regensberg -- Groyser eulm bay levaye fun Leon Kristol, balibten shrayber, "Forverts"-mitarbeter, dort, 25 August 1959.
  

• L. Hendin -- Leon Kristol -- der mensh un der shrayber, dort, 27 August 1959.

• Maurice Schwartz -- Leon Kristol in dem Yidishn Art Teater, dort, 28 August 1959.

• Chaim Liberman -- A fraynd iz avek, dort, 28 September 1959.

• B.Y. Goldstein -- M'ratevet di evenyu, "Fraye Arbeter Shtime," N.Y., 22 January 1932.
  

• Melech Ravitch -- Leon Kristol, "Di prese," Buenos Aires, 4 September 1960.