The Secret Jewish History of Superman
Image by Getty Images
By Jeffrey Boxer November 16, 2016
Clark Kent may not have been Jewish, but the Man of Steel almost certainly was.
Creator Jerry Siegel acknowledged as much in his unpublished memoir, which explains that the anti-Semitism he saw growing up inspired him to create a character that would help downtrodden groups see themselves as the superheroes that they really are.
Out of the anti-Semitism, an American icon was born.
The ancient Israelite Samson is commonly believed to be the role model for Superman. But a new line of thinking has emerged that Siegel and co-creator Joe Shuster had a different Jewish character of superhuman strength in mind.
Siegmund “Zishe” Breitbart was a circus performer and vaudeville strongman that was billed as “the Superman of the Ages” during his trips to America. According to University of California, Berkeley professor Mel Gordon, the Polish Jew, “performed his death-defying feats in 1923 and 1924 in Cleveland and Toronto, Siegel and Shuster’s respective hometowns, when they were impressionable nine year olds.”
Breitbart also wore a cape, and according to circus advertisements, was able to stop a speeding locomotive. Sound familiar?
Incredibly, Breitbart was one of several famous Jewish strongmen that toured the country in the early 1900s. For a superb, in-depth look at the fascinating history of Jewish strongmen, be sure to check out this piece by Laurie Gwen Shapiro.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
