JL;DR SUMMARY The Night of the Murdered Poets refers to the tragic events of August 12, 1952, when 13 members of the Soviet Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were executed for fabricated crimes, leading to a commemoration that has parallels with Tisha B'Av in a sector of Yiddish-speaking, socialist American Jews. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.