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{{Short description|Russian dancer (1914–2011)}}
Sylvin Rubenstein was a Russian ] dancer and ], and member of the ] to ] during ].
{{Original research|date=November 2007}}

'''Sylvin Rubinstein''' (1914 in ] – April 30, 2011 in ]) was a Jewish-Russian dancer and ], who was a member of the ] to ] during ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dkp-online.de/uz/4321/s1302.htm|title=Das Leben des Sylvin Rubinstein|last=Gärtner|first=Birgit|date=2011-05-27|publisher=]|language=German|accessdate=23 October 2011}}</ref><ref name=theage>{{Citation
| last = Hall
| first = Allan
| author-link =
| title = Germany embraces killer transvestite
| newspaper = ]
| pages =
| date = February 25, 2005
| url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Germany-embraces-killer-transvestite/2005/02/24/1109180039798.html
| accessdate =January 27, 2010
}}
</ref>


==Pre-War== ==Pre-War==
Rubinstein was born in 1917 in ].<ref name=theage /> He left Russia for ] with his mother and his twin sister Maria, when his aristocrat father was executed by the Bolsheviks.<ref name=theage /> Sylvin and Maria earned money by dancing in the town marketplace.<ref name=theage /> By their teens, they were dancing professionally, as a ] act billed as Imperio y Dolores.<ref name=theage /> As Imperio and Dolores they headlined at music halls throughout Europe, as well New York and in Australia.<ref name=theage />
Born in 1917 in ], his aristocrat father was executed by the Bolsheviks while his Polish mother fled across the border to Poland with Sylvin and his twin sister Maria.

Penniless in the hamlet of Brodi, Sylvin and Maria learned early on they could charm pennies from passersby by dancing in the town marketplace.

By their teens, the brother-sister team were dancing professionally. Cashing in on a Latin craze, they did a ] act billed as Imperio y Dolores.

By the time they were 20, Imperio and Dolores were headliners at music halls in all European capitals, London, New York and as far away as Melbourne.


==Nazi Occupation of Poland== ==Nazi Occupation of Poland==
They were performing at Warsaw’s Adria theatre when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Being Jewish, they were consigned to the ] where Rubinstein quickly had run-ins with Nazi guards. The siblings were performing at Warsaw’s ] when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.<ref name="theage" /> They were consigned to the ].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Sylvin Rubinstein|url=https://www.jmberlin.de/en/node/7153|access-date=2021-08-24|website=Jewish Museum Berlin|language=en}}</ref> Rubinstein says that he managed to escape the ghetto, wresting a machine gun from a guard and killing several Gestapo officers.


⚫ ==Entry into the Resistance==
Jailed and beaten, Rubinstein nonetheless managed to escape, wresting a machinegun from a guard and mowing down a dozen Gestapo officers.
Rubinstein's biography, 'Dolores & Imperio: Die drei Leben des Sylvin Rubinstein' ('Dolores and Imperio: the Three Lives of Sylvin Rubenstein') contains an account of his work in the Polish resistance. He claims that he was recruited into the resistance by an anti-Nazi German officer, Major Kurt Werner.


⚫ ==Entry Into the Resistance==
"One day a big, tall German army officer spotted me and kept staring at me...He followed me and then walked up to me and I thought, well, this is it." "One day a big, tall German army officer spotted me and kept staring at me...He followed me and then walked up to me and I thought, well, this is it."


It turned out the officer, Wehrmacht Major Kurt Werner, was a fan of Imperio y Dolores and remembered Rubinstein from an appearance in Berlin before the war. It turned out the officer, Wehrmacht Major Kurt Werner, was a fan of Imperio y Dolores and remembered Rubinstein from an appearance in Berlin before the war.


Werner arranged for fake ID papers for Rubinstein and his sister and urged them to head for Switzerland. But his sister insisted on trying to fetch their mother, still back in Brodi. Werner arranged for fake ID papers for Rubinstein and his sister and urged them to head for Switzerland. But his sister insisted on trying to fetch their mother, still back in ].


"I saw her board the train heading east and I knew as we waved to each other that that was the last time I’d ever see her...I could have insisted she stay with me. But I didn’t. That is one of two things I’ve always regretted." "I saw her board the train heading east and I knew as we waved to each other that that was the last time I’d ever see her...I could have insisted she stay with me. But I didn't. That is one of two things I’ve always regretted."


Both his mother and sister died in ]. Rubinstein remained in Warsaw, and was recruited into the Polish resistance by Major Werner. He became an accomplished assassin and saboteur.
He never saw either his sister or his mother again.


⚫ Rubinstein used his ability to pass as a woman in these missions. For example, he recalled that a Gestapo officer "was a particularly nasty Nazi who took positive delight in finding Jews who were hidden in people’s homes...he would have the ] dragged off and also the German families who had sheltered them. Very nasty, indeed. Everybody in Berlin feared and hated him, Jews and Goyim alike...well, one fine day it was his birthday and a very elegant-looking lady (if I do say so myself) showed up at his office with a bunch of red roses, asking to see him alone."
Remaining in Warsaw, Rubinstein returned to Major Werner, who took the dancer under his wing and initiated him into the Polish resistance.

It was through Werner that Rubinstein became an accomplished assassin and sabotage artist using the cover name Silwan Turski.

⚫ Rubenstein used his ability to pass as a woman in these missions. For example he recalled that a Gestapo officer "was a particularly nasty Nazi who took positive delight in finding Jews who were hidden in people’s homes...he would have the ] dragged off and also the German families who had sheltered them. Very nasty, indeed. Everybody in Berlin feared and hated him, Jews and Goyim alike...well, one fine day it was his birthday and a very elegant-looking lady (if I do say so myself) showed up at his office with a bunch of red roses, asking to see him alone."


==Post-War== ==Post-War==
⚫ After the war, Rubinstein returned to dancing.<ref name=":0" /> "Becoming Dolores was my way of coping with my twin sister’s death...only a twin can understand how horrific that was. It was like being torn in half. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her." In Allied-occupied Germany Rubinstein testified on Major Werner's behalf before a US board to win his freedom.
After the war, Rubinstein returned to dancing.

⚫ "Becoming Dolores was my way of coping with my twin sister’s death...only a twin can understand how horrific that was. It was like being torn in half. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her."

In Allied-occupied Germany Rubinstein testified on Major Werner's behalf before a US board to win his freedom.


Rubinstein, in his female guise as Dolores, went on to become a major music hall entertainer in the 1950s. But advancing age and changing tastes took their toll. Rubinstein, in his female guise as Dolores, went on to become a major music hall entertainer in the 1950s. But advancing age and changing tastes took their toll.


Reduced to performing in seedy clubs in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn red- light district, he retired around 1970. Reduced to performing in seedy clubs in Hamburg’s ], he retired around 1970.


"I was dancing in a place where the headline act was a couple having sex on stage. That was when I said, ‘Dolores, it’s time to hang up the castanets’." "I was dancing in a place where the headline act was a couple having sex on stage. That was when I said, 'Dolores, it’s time to hang up the castanets.'"


As of January 2005, Rubenstein was alive and living in an apartment just off the ] in the harbour district of Hamburg. Sylvin Rubinstein died on the 30 of April 2011, before he was living in an apartment just off the ] in the harbour district of Hamburg. A documentary, '']'' (Dancing His Life), was made of his life story.


==Books==
A documentary, Er Tanzte Das Leben (Dancing His Life), was made of his life story.
* Kuno Kruse: "Dolores & Imperio. Die drei Leben des Sylvin Rubinstein". Kiepenheuer&Witsch, Köln 2000. {{ISBN|978-3-462-02926-0}}.


==References==
According to an article in ] in May 2006, he returned for several engagements of dancing in Hamburg's gay clubs.
<References />
*{{Citation
| last = Witzeling
| first = Klaus
| author-link =
| title = Überleben durch den Flamenco
| newspaper = ]
| language = German
| pages =
| date = February 8, 2005
| url = http://www.abendblatt.de/kultur-live/article306044/Ueberleben-durch-den-Flamenco.html
| accessdate =January 27, 2010
}}
*{{Citation
| last = Blauy
| first = Gabriel
| author-link =
| title = Abenteuer eines Artisten und antifaschistischen Agenten
| newspaper = ]
| language = German
| pages =
| date = June 10, 2004
| url = https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article319202/Abenteuer_eines_Artisten_und_antifaschistischen_Agenten.html
| accessdate =January 27, 2010
}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *
* *
* {{YouTube|afrcCckVNkk|10:24 Minutes from the Film and more}}
* ]
*


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] {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubinstein, Sylvin}}
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Latest revision as of 05:30, 2 January 2024

Russian dancer (1914–2011)
This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (November 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Sylvin Rubinstein (1914 in Moscow – April 30, 2011 in Hamburg) was a Jewish-Russian dancer and cross-dresser, who was a member of the resistance to Nazism during World War II.

Pre-War

Rubinstein was born in 1917 in Russia. He left Russia for Poland with his mother and his twin sister Maria, when his aristocrat father was executed by the Bolsheviks. Sylvin and Maria earned money by dancing in the town marketplace. By their teens, they were dancing professionally, as a flamenco act billed as Imperio y Dolores. As Imperio and Dolores they headlined at music halls throughout Europe, as well New York and in Australia.

Nazi Occupation of Poland

The siblings were performing at Warsaw’s Adria Theatre when Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. They were consigned to the Warsaw Ghetto. Rubinstein says that he managed to escape the ghetto, wresting a machine gun from a guard and killing several Gestapo officers.

Entry into the Resistance

Rubinstein's biography, 'Dolores & Imperio: Die drei Leben des Sylvin Rubinstein' ('Dolores and Imperio: the Three Lives of Sylvin Rubenstein') contains an account of his work in the Polish resistance. He claims that he was recruited into the resistance by an anti-Nazi German officer, Major Kurt Werner.

"One day a big, tall German army officer spotted me and kept staring at me...He followed me and then walked up to me and I thought, well, this is it."

It turned out the officer, Wehrmacht Major Kurt Werner, was a fan of Imperio y Dolores and remembered Rubinstein from an appearance in Berlin before the war.

Werner arranged for fake ID papers for Rubinstein and his sister and urged them to head for Switzerland. But his sister insisted on trying to fetch their mother, still back in Brody.

"I saw her board the train heading east and I knew as we waved to each other that that was the last time I’d ever see her...I could have insisted she stay with me. But I didn't. That is one of two things I’ve always regretted."

Both his mother and sister died in Treblinka. Rubinstein remained in Warsaw, and was recruited into the Polish resistance by Major Werner. He became an accomplished assassin and saboteur.

Rubinstein used his ability to pass as a woman in these missions. For example, he recalled that a Gestapo officer "was a particularly nasty Nazi who took positive delight in finding Jews who were hidden in people’s homes...he would have the Jews dragged off and also the German families who had sheltered them. Very nasty, indeed. Everybody in Berlin feared and hated him, Jews and Goyim alike...well, one fine day it was his birthday and a very elegant-looking lady (if I do say so myself) showed up at his office with a bunch of red roses, asking to see him alone."

Post-War

After the war, Rubinstein returned to dancing. "Becoming Dolores was my way of coping with my twin sister’s death...only a twin can understand how horrific that was. It was like being torn in half. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her." In Allied-occupied Germany Rubinstein testified on Major Werner's behalf before a US board to win his freedom.

Rubinstein, in his female guise as Dolores, went on to become a major music hall entertainer in the 1950s. But advancing age and changing tastes took their toll.

Reduced to performing in seedy clubs in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn, he retired around 1970.

"I was dancing in a place where the headline act was a couple having sex on stage. That was when I said, 'Dolores, it’s time to hang up the castanets.'"

Sylvin Rubinstein died on the 30 of April 2011, before he was living in an apartment just off the Reeperbahn in the harbour district of Hamburg. A documentary, Er tanzte das Leben (Dancing His Life), was made of his life story.

Books

  • Kuno Kruse: "Dolores & Imperio. Die drei Leben des Sylvin Rubinstein". Kiepenheuer&Witsch, Köln 2000. ISBN 978-3-462-02926-0.

References

  1. Gärtner, Birgit (2011-05-27). "Das Leben des Sylvin Rubinstein" (in German). unsere Zeit. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  2. ^ Hall, Allan (February 25, 2005), "Germany embraces killer transvestite", The Age, retrieved January 27, 2010
  3. ^ "Sylvin Rubinstein". Jewish Museum Berlin. Retrieved 2021-08-24.

External links

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