Talk:Jacques Presburg

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by AirshipJungleman29 talk 10:43, 8 August 2025 (UTC)

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• ... that Broadway musical composer Jacques Presburg led a popular jazz orchestra in Berlin prior to his death at the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943?

• Sources:

• ""OH, WHAT A GIRL!" AMUSES: Harry Kelly Leads the Funmakers of Bright Musical Farce". The New York Times. July 29, 1919. p. 20. "Oh, What a Girl! A musical farce in two acts and four scenes. Book and lyrics by Edgar Smith and Edward Clark. Music by Charles Jules and Jacques Presburg. Staged by Edward Clark. At the Shurbert Theatre.

• Schiweck, Ingo; von Osterhausen, Hans-Jürgen; Schult, Susanne (2005). "Lass dich überraschen--": niederländische Unterhaltungskünstler in Deutschland nach 1945. Münster: Agenda. p. 116. (a translation of the German) Another example is Jack Presburg, born in Amsterdam on December 26, 1881. After a great success in Amsterdam with his operetta "Hello California," he moved to Berlin in 1928 and became known there as the leader of a popular jazz orchestra... As a descendant of a Jewish family, he was forced to leave Germany in 1938 and returned to the Netherlands. That wasn't far enough away from Germany, as it turned out. On February 5, 1943, he was killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

• • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Lindsay de Sausmarez

Created by 4meter4 (talk). Number of QPQs required: 1. Nominator has 117 past nominations.

4meter4 (talk) 01:18, 31 July 2025 (UTC).

General: Article is new enough and long enough
New enough: Long enough:

Policy: Article is sourced, neutral, and free of copyright problems
Adequate sourcing: Neutral: Free of copyright violations, plagiarism, and close paraphrasing:

Hook eligibility:

• Cited: - Yes, though only the second reference cited here actually backs up the claim in the hook.
• Interesting:

QPQ: Done.

Overall: Epicgenius (talk) 03:16, 2 August 2025 (UTC)

@Epicgenius: The first source was to cite the fact that he was a "broadway musical composer". The second that he led a jazz orchestra in Berlin and died in Auschwitz. Multiple facts needed multiple sources. Best.4meter4 (talk) 03:59, 2 August 2025 (UTC)

Oh I see, I skipped over the Broadway composer part of the hook. Still GTG. Epicgenius (talk) 04:00, 2 August 2025 (UTC)

Isaäc Jacob Presburg

Ssilvers I think you are missing the point the the book sources on this person, while having the dates and places right on birth and death information, do not contain his real name or his parents names. It does confirm the Auschwitz death on this date but does not have his birth name. I had to find primary sources such as his birth records in the Netherlands, US government documents, and the Auschwitz documents to actually source this content; all of which agree on his birth name as Isaäc Presburg and some including the middle name Jacob. As such, the use of this name needs to be cited directly to the various primary sources that use this name. They aren't in the lead, but were in the body. Please restore the original construction so that the right are attached to the content. Best.4meter4 (talk) 23:16, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

I moved a few citations up and fixed the problem.4meter4 (talk) 23:23, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Thanks. -- Ssilvers (talk) 23:29, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

He should have come back to the U.S. in 1938. I wonder whether people (especially Jews) in the Netherlands in 1939, after the invasion of Poland, thought the Nazis would invade? -- Ssilvers (talk) 00:04, 1 August 2025 (UTC)

It's hard to know. He may have wanted to leave but not been able to. Money might have played a part for him. A lot of Jews who fled Germany did so without any assets because they were either taken from them or they were forced to leave them all behind. It would be difficult to travel without finances to pay for ship passage. Or he might have thought that the Netherlands was safe. It's a tragedy, however it came about.4meter4 (talk) 00:17, 1 August 2025 (UTC)

Deportation of Jews in 1938

@Ssilvers The Third Reich began large scale deportations of Jews from Germany in 1938. I think the source indicates that this was a deportation as it is clearly stating this was an involuntary action on his part and that he was forced to leave in 1938. This would match the historical events of that year. This document indicates a systemic presurring of deportation began in March 1938, and of course the 1938 expulsion of Polish Jews from Germany was a major event. There were multiple different small and large moves for deportation of Jews from Germany that year. Jews would be arrested and then taken to the border. This is likely what happened to Presburg based on the source. Another possible path would be arrest to apply pressure to voluntarily leave. If you read the Nazi concentration camps article in this period the German Reich would pressure Jews to leave by interning them in a camp until they agreed to leave the country. Either way, it is clear he was coerced in some manner to go, and didn't flee of his own accord. Best.4meter4 (talk) 01:48, 1 August 2025 (UTC)

Over to you

I am unwatching the article now. Presburg has an interesting life, and it has been a pleasure to find out about him. I left another hidden comment for you to resolve in the last paragraph. All the best. -- Ssilvers (talk) 06:23, 1 August 2025 (UTC)

Ssilvers Thanks for your assistance. The prose is much tighter and reads better. I appreciate you. Best wishes.4meter4 (talk) 13:19, 1 August 2025 (UTC)