BACON, ISRAEL

BACON, ISRAEL (1910–1943), ḥazzan. Bacon was born in Chryzanow, to a family of cantors, originating from Kolbuszow in Galicia. He was the son of Hirsch Leib Bacon. At the age of nine he went with his parents to Berlin and sang in his father's choir. At the age of eleven he was asked by the Jewish theater in Berlin to sing at a performance. His father did not approve and as a result he returned to Chryzanow with his son. Israel Bacon studied in the yeshivot of Tschebin and Bobov. At the age of 21 he appeared in various cities of Europe. He served as a cantor in Czechoslovakia and sang in concerts in London, Hamburg, Antwerp, and Berlin, where he also participated in activities of the Kulturbund. In Berlin he produced several records, including selections of Psalms and songs in Yiddish and Hebrew. Among his piano accompanists on these records was the musician arno nadel . In 1939 he was appointed cantor at the bet midrash "Ahavat Re'im"in Cracow, but when he arrived there, the war broke out. He was transferred to the Tarnow ghetto where he encouraged the Jews with his singing. In 1943 he was taken to the extermination camp in Belzec where he was killed. (Akiva Zimmerman)