As to why the Mloteks' assignment of authorship should be credited: The Mloteks are the premier collectors of yiddish song. Their three volumes are vastly superior to all that came before and reflect in every entry an extremely deep knowledge of the field. They typically cite source poetry from very early secular yiddish writers and also reveal a deep knowledge of the holocaust compositions from the Warsaw and Vilna Ghettos and elsewhere. They had the benefit of contributions from the many yiddish-speaking and reading readers of The Forward as well as access to YIVO archives, etc. They display their knowledge modestly, without vast academic apparatus, but their collections will likely never be matched, let alone exceeded.

Also of note is their son, Zalman Mlotek, who is very active as a musician, music director and record producer of yiddish music and has recently participated in excellent recordings of music from the holoicaust, including one of music written for and sung in Jewish "Cabarets" in the Ghettos of the holocaust. If my recollection serves me, he did not include "Dona Dona," although it certainly would have been appropriate for the cabaret collection if it had been written in the Warsaw Ghetto.

In sum, if any of the three Mloteks (Mother, Father or Son) provide an attribution, it is trustworthy. Also Sholem Secunda was a very successful songwriter for the Yiddish Stage, with several other crossover hits. He certainly knew the importance of immediately copyrighting his songs. I believe his American copyright date precedes the terrible deportations from the Warsaw Ghetto and the uprising there.

All three of Mloteks excellent books are in print and available from the Workmen's Circle. Full info can be found on the Dona Dona thread linked above.