Time Remembered: A Jewish Children's Commune in the Soviet Union in the 1920s

Hans B. Neumann is a history lecturer at Scarborough College, University
of Toronto.

The turbulent events of Manya Lipshitz’s life reflect the turmoil of
the 20th century and the even sadder impact it had on the Jewish
community in Europe. Born in Bialystock, Poland, in 1906, she soon
became an unwilling witness to many of the momentous political events
that wracked Eastern Europe early in the century. In 1926, after
spending time in a children’s commune in Vitebsk, she came to Canada,
where she pursued intensely felt political activities and her devotion
to the cause of education. After decades of service to Montreal’s
Jewish community and its causes, she became a much-respected educator
and pedagogue.

Originally published in Yiddish in 1977, her autobiography is
complemented by additional material related to her early years in
Europe. This book provides a fascinating insight into the complex,
convoluted, and often fractious political life of the Jewish community
in Eastern Europe and in Canada.