Manya Reiss

Manya Reiss (also known as Maria Aerova, sometimes spelled Ayerova, , 1900–1962) was an American Marxist–Leninist and a founding member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).

Biography

Manya Reiss was born in China to a family of Russian-Jewish origin and then immigrated to the United States in 1912. In the United States, she was a garment worker as well as a communist activist. In 1931, she attended the International Lenin School.

When Reiss became ill with cancer, she was visited in the hospital by Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi, and Lu Dingyi. and was buried at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. Wu Lengxi, director of the New China News Agency and Sidney Rittenberg delivered eulogies. People's Daily reported on her death and memorial service.