The Life and Times of Eddie Rosner

Driven out by Hitler, persecuted by Stalin, Eddie Rosner, the “Jazzman of the Gulag,” was a top Jewish bandleader in the Weimar Republic who fled to Poland during the thirties and thence to Russia, became Stalin’s favourite, was then imprisoned in a Gulag, released, and finally made it back to Berlin, dying in poverty. Tony will tell you Eddie’s amazing story as well as about his fellow Jewish bandleaders and musicians of that Age who were a part of those terrible years. Along the way will be a few surprises including Marlene Dietrich, the Red Army Choir, and Artie Shaw.

Tony Zendle is author of several books on Jewish themes (e.g. ‘The Definitive Guide to Jewish Miscellany and Trivia’) and a regular speaker to Jewish groups such as Milim, AJR, JACS etc. Tony is also an occasional contributor to Jewish newspapers, a member of the Jewish Historical Society of England, an accredited R&A Golf Referee, and a keen naïve artist. He was called “a mine of information” by the Jewish Chronicle