Avraham Godin

The ins-and-outs of Jewish electioneering in Latvia, how Dubin exerted all the power he had to save the Lubavitcher Rebbe from the USSR, and working with a dictator on behalf of his people.

Dubin works to extract the Rebbe from Nazi-Occupied Poland. The Soviets invade little Latvia, and shortly thereafter arrest Mordechai Dubin.

Godin becomes Dubin’s secretary. While organizing his archives he learns of his employer’s early work assisting Jews and refugees during World War I and its aftermath.

Avraham Godin is arrested and enters the world of the Soviet Gulag. Throughout he hears bits and pieces of news about Mordechai Dubin, continuing to glean information once free and in Israel. Godin discovers himself through his own arrest files.

Avraham Godin gives a sweeping introduction of Dubin and his era, including the time he saved the poet David Bergelson.

A window into the life, work, and exile of Mordechai Dubin (1889-1957), a towering leader of Latvian Jewry in the inter-war years. Dubin was the founder and driving force of Agudath Israel in Latvia, and a leading Jewish member of Latvia’s parliament duri...