Shimon Dzigan

After the outbreak of the First World War Dzigan was apprenticed to a tailor to help the family make ends meet.

"The performances of Dzigan and Shumacher typically opened with skits based on items from daily newspapers.

Dzigan’s persona was that of a hyperactive, happy beggar, endlessly complaining about life as he darted about the stage with his signature red handkerchief hanging from his pocket.

The bespectacled Shumacher, in fundamental contrast, was phlegmatic and restrained, glossing his Jewish troubles with subtle gestures of the shoulders and hands.

"[3]When Germany invaded Poland, Dzigan and Shumacher fled to Soviet-occupied Białystok where they pulled their company back together and toured Minsk, Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkov, and other Soviet localities.