Moses Wasserzug

Born near Posen, the son of a clothes merchant, Moses (Mosheh) Wasserzug (Wassercug) received a traditional Jewish education and worked as a ritual slaughterer. He lived mainly in the Polish city of Plock during the Prussian occupation, where he owned a prosperous tavern. Wasserzug is noted for writing his memoir, vividly describing life in Poland and Germany, in the first decade of the nineteenth century. Of particular interest is his recounting of his attendance at a Polish theater.