Biography.guide
Home › People › Shlomo Kleit
Portrait of Shlomo Kleit

Shlomo Kleit

1880 – 1962

American socialist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Shlomo Kleit

Lived 1880 – 1962 (aged 81–82).

Shlomo Kleit (; 1891–1962) was a leader of the Yiddishist / Socialist movement in Lithuania.

Kleit, who was a tailor by profession, became active in the General Jewish Labour Bund in Vilna (Vilnius, Lithuania), during the First World War, under the German occupation of the city, from 1915 to 1918. Kleit was active in the Jewish anti-Tsarist revolutionary movement, and the anti-German underground during those years. After World War I he was elected as the Socialist vice-president of the Vilna Kehilla. Kleit left Lithuania for political reasons and lived in Berlin, Cairo, Tel Aviv, Southern France and Toronto. With the assistance of Yaakov (Yankel) Pat, the international Bundist leader, Kleit went to the United States in 1927 and there worked as a teacher in the Arbeter Ring schools until his death.

During and after World War II, Kleit worked to rescue Jews from the Holocaust and to bring survivors into the United States from Cuba and possibly other countries. There is some evidence to indicate that the circle of groups and individuals included Hashomer Hatzair, returning war veterans, non-Jewish pilots and engineers and (with inconclusive evidence) mobsters such as Meyer Lansky and (somewhat questionably) Lucky Luciano.

Among Kleit's colleagues in Jewish education were Leo Dashefsky, Leah Vevetches, Pesach Simon and Michel Gelbart.

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Born
1880
Birth century
Died
1962

People in Shlomo Kleit's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Shlomo Kleit's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Shlomo Kleit?

American socialist

When was Shlomo Kleit born?

Shlomo Kleit was born in 1880.

When did Shlomo Kleit die?

Shlomo Kleit died in 1962.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Shlomo Kleit

· Wikidata: Q7499592

· DBpedia: Shlomo Kleit

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Shlomo Kleit. https://biography.guide/shlomo-kleit/

MLA: "Shlomo Kleit." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/shlomo-kleit/.

Chicago: "Shlomo Kleit." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/shlomo-kleit/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 05:04 UTC