The Politics of Futility: The General Jewish Workers Bund of Poland, 1917-1943

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The Politics of Futility The General Jewish Workers Bund of Poland iS)i7- i 943

THE POLITICS OF FUTILITY The General Jewish Workers Bund o f Poland, 1917^1943

B y BERNARD K. JOHNPOLL State University of New York at Albany

Cornell University Press ITHACA, N E W YORK

Copyright © 1967 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quota­ tions in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher.

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS

First published 1967

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 67-13044 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY KINGSPORT PRESS, INC.

To Nicholas Kirtzman 1 8 9 6 -1 9 6 3

Preface TH IS book is the culmination of more than twenty years of work—and procrastination. It had its origins in Britain during the early 1940’s, when I was a young seaman, just returned from the Soviet Union. During a four-month stay in that “W orkers’ Fatherland,” I had become disillusioned with socialism. I discussed my experience with the late James Maxton, M.P., who suggested that I might study the differ­ ence between revolutionary democratic socialism and the totalitarianism practiced in Soviet Russia, which labels itself Socialist. A few days after my visit with Jimmy Maxton, I met Arthur Zygelboym, the Bund representative in the Polish Parliament-in-Exile, who was, like Maxton, a revolutionary democratic Socialist. He also warned me against equating the Soviet system with socialism. My interest in socialism was rekindled by these two meet­ ings, and I began research into the Socialist movements of the interwar period. This volume is the first product of that re­ search. I hope to follow it with studies of other democratic Socialist parties, particularly those of Sweden, the United States, Canada, Poland, Austria, and the Zionists. Each of these parties represents an aspect of the Socialist movement. The success or failure of each sheds new light on Socialist doctrine, on party theory, and on other aspects of political science. My object in this study is to explore the workings of a particular political party in a specific setting—to examine the party’s approach to problems as they arose and the solutions that were suggested. Primarily, the study has been limited to an investigation of the basic questions that confronted the v ii

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General Jewish Workers Bund of Poland (commonly called the Bund) as a party of the Jewish working people in interwar Poland. The work investigates the basic questions that con­ fronted the Bund and the way the Bund answered these questions. Purely empirical in its approach, the study makes no claim to being a philosophic analysis; it is not a history of the Jews in interwar Poland, nor is it a study of Social Democratic philosophy, but a survey of the Bund and the conditions under which it existed. From this analysis it is hoped that some new insight into political parties may develop; but my intention is not to propose any sweeping new theories or to disclose any new evidence of the difference between revolutionary socialism (as the Bundists labeled their myth) and Communism. This difference has been well documented previously. Any new evidence that may appear will be peripheral to the study itself. As an investigation of a single party within the context of the broader problems inherent in any research involving Socialist theory, party theory, and comparative government systems, this study proposes to examine the twenty-six-year life of the Bund and to find through that investigation some answers to problems confronting political scientists. Chief among these questions is: W hat can be the role of a political party that is by nature precluded from actual state power? This was the major problem confronting the Bund, whose constituency was less than io per cent of the population of Poland. Peripherally, three related questions will be considered: (1) In view of Marx’s failure to deal with the nationality question in a positive manner, how does a party that labels itself Marxist propose to solve the nationality problem while remaining true to what it considers Socialist internationalism?1 (2) W hat is the driving force of such a party? W hat is its 1 Internationalism, in the sense used here, might better be labeled multinationalism. Unfortunately, Marxists persist in calling it inter­ nationalism.

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ix

mystique or myth? (3) How does a party adapt itself to the semi-illegality imposed on it by a series of authoritarian governments? This inquiry may not find all the answers it seeks, nor can final answers be made without the study of other, similar parties. But such an undertaking can break new ground, sug­ gest some partial and tentative solutions, and throw light upon areas that are now in almost total darkness. The Bund was a party that limited its constituency to a persecuted national minority, and that had a political doctrine from which it refused to budge—a self-proclaimed Marxian party dedicated to a new social, political, and economic order. There were other Socialist parties made up of national minorities in independent Poland between 1917 and 1943. No serious investigation of these parties has been undertaken. The Ukrainian, German, and Byelorussian Socialists of interwar Poland represented constituencies whose problems were in many ways similar to those faced by the Bund, though not as sharply defined. These parties represented national minorities within specific geographic areas; the Jews, on the contrary, were dispersed through Poland and had to acclimatize them­ selves to remaining a permanent minority. The other minori­ ties could speak of an ultimate goal of territorial integrity as nation-states; but this was precluded for the Jews. From the point of view of scientific investigation it is fortunate that the Bund existed as a Polish political party for a relatively short period— 1917 to 1943. For within this twentysix-year period the issues were clearly delineated. Those issues are investigated here in their historical setting and without the use of any mathematical formulas. History must, in this case, serve as the vehicle for investigating basic political issues scientifically. The struggles within the party, the search for partners among the Socialists of other nationalities within Poland, and the relations with other parties within the Jewish community are studied in the hope that some broad generali­ zations may emerge. If I appear to be too harsh in my treatment of the Bund in

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this book, I am genuinely sorry. Had I been a Jew in interwar Poland, and even had I known then what I claim to know today, I should nevertheless have been a member of the Bund. My criticism is based purely on my personal theory of politics—a theory which holds that politics is the study of power and that a successful political party is one which can influence the structure and operations of the state. On the basis of ethical theory or moral philosophy, I am still in agree­ ment with the Bund. SOURCES

Research into the Bund was made possible by the ready availability of materials. The Bund’s members had a sense of history. They therefore made over the years a collection of materials, the Bund Archives, which are invaluable to any scholar in East European or Jewish politics, history, or culture. The Archives have an unusual history. Begun about the turn of the century by John Mill, one of the founders of the movement, they were housed in various cities throughout Western Europe, and finally came to Berlin after the end of W orld W ar I. W hen Hitler rose to power, the Archives were moved to Paris lest they be destroyed by the Nazis. After the fall of Paris in 1940 the Archives were seized by the Nazis, though for reasons as yet unexplained they were not moved to Germany but were left in Paris. As the Allied armies moved toward Paris, the Germans attempted to destroy the Archives by throwing them into a garbage dump. Fortunately, they were discovered there by a sympathizer with the Bund, and most of their contents were saved. After the war they were moved to New York. Unfortunately, some valuable material had been lost in the meantime. Almost all the brochures, many books, and files of most of the journals and newspapers pub­ lished by or relating to the Bund, together with numerous personal papers and letters, are kept in the Bund Archives at

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25 East 78th Street in New York. They were made available to me, and much of my research was done there. Another extremely valuable collection for students of East European Jewry is in the library and archives of the Y IV O Institute for Jewish Research. Originally established in Vilno, the YIVO moved to New York during the late 19jo's. Many of the materials relating to the Bund in the YIVO and the Bund Archives duplicate one another. Some items in each of the collections, however, are unique. A complete file of the most important newspaper of the Polish Bund, the daily Folkscajtung 2 of Warsaw, is available on microfilm in the Jewish section of the New York Public Library. Other major Warsaw dailies in Yiddish are also avail­ able there. Some Bund materials in the library, particularly those concerned with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and with the early 1920’s, are, however, in extremely poor condition. Some material of a theoretical nature was also found at the Tamiment Institute in New York. The concentration of all these collections in the city of New York simplified the task of research. Other materials are not available in the United States. Many of these are in the British Museum in London—particularly such newspapers as Arbeiter Sztyme of Warsaw and Der Ernes, the official Yiddish organ of the Communist Party in Soviet Russia. The Soviet Embassy’s cultural attaché in Washington was helpful in making available rare materials that are to be found only at the Marxism-Leninism Institute in Moscow. Despite this wealth of sources, for some areas—particularly the early years of the Bund in independent Poland—archives are no longer available. These were mostly destroyed by the anti-Semitic government then in power. Some of the material disappeared when the Bund Archives were being moved from Berlin to Paris, or was destroyed when the Germans fled the 2 Folkscajtung is the Polish spelling as it appeared on the masthead of the newspaper. See “A Note on Languages,” which follows.

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French capital. A search in all available collections of materials in Yiddish, Russian, Polish, German, and English has failed to uncover any of the missing archives. Although these might have enriched the study, I do not believe they would have changed its basic thesis. Interviews with surviving Bundists have helped fill the gap. So far as possible this study has been based on original materials. Personal papers, letters, messages, journals, news­ papers, and brochures were consulted wherever they were available. Memoirs of persons directly involved have also been used to a great extent. Secondary sources have generally been avoided except where no others were extant. A NOTE ON LANGUAGES

Most of the material on which this study is based is in Yiddish, the dominant language of East European Jewry. This language is basically Germanic, although the vocabulary, grammar, and alphabet are distinct. The alphabet of Yiddish is a modified form of the Hebrew, and unfortunately there are no established forms for transliterating from Yiddish to English. So a serious problem in transliteration is encountered here. Because the Yiddish alphabet differs from the Latin, it has been necessary to transcribe phonetically. The exceptions are certain Yiddish words that are spelled with Latin letters in the original material; these spellings have been retained. Many of these are names of Yiddish journals published in Poland. Thus, the name of the Bund journal was written Uncer Cajt while it was published in Poland, but was changed to Unser Tsait after it was moved to New York. Some Yiddish publications follow the German spelling of their names: two such are Der Wecker and Zukunft , both published in New York. For these, the publisher’s spelling has been retained. W here Russian material has been translit­ erated, the accepted spelling in the Latin alphabet has been employed. The original spellings have been used for Polish and German words.

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Although the titles of publications in Yiddish, Polish, Russian, and German are cited in the original only, transla­ tions will be found in the bibliography. In those few instances where linguistic peculiarities made literal translation impos­ sible, translations are as nearly exact as linguistic dissimilarity will allow. Proper names, particularly of persons, constitute an ex­ ceptionally serious problem in transliteration. Even where an English spelling or an Americanized form of a person’s name existed, the spelling used by the person himself has been employed. Thus Arthur Zygelboym’s family name could have been transliterated to Siegelbaum, a spelling preferred by most American Jews bearing that name. Zygelboym, how­ ever, kept the spelling as it appears here. GUIDE TO TRANSLITERATION

The list which follows has been selected as a guide to Yiddish and Polish spelling and pronunciation. YIDDISH

Equivalent in English Letter as in mop a as in high ay (ai is somewhat softer) as in pay ey as in broom u as in German ach ch harder version of ch kh as in gendarme zh (All other Yiddish transliterations are spelled phonetically.) POLISH

Letter a e

Equivalent in English as in hot as in get

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i o c u 43

Labor Party (Netherlands) : and W orld War I, 7; and Comintern, 104 Labor Party (N orw ay), 139; in Bureau of Revolutionary Socialist Parties, 8; and Comintern, 104 Labour Party (Britain), 7 Landrat (Jewish trade unions), 212 Lansing, Robert, 74 Latvia, Bund in, 34, 43, 53 League of Nations, 222 League of Riflemen, 145 League of Struggle for Emancipa­ tion of the Working Class, 24 Leather workers’ union, 117 L eb n sfra g n : outlawed, 41; resumes, 41, 42; on Jewish bloc, 52; on Russian Revolution, 54, 58, 62 Lederbour, Georg, 8 Left wing (Bund), 8; and Com­ munists, 71-72» 84, 91, 113, 138— 139, 191; at 1918 convention, 82, 84; and parliamentarianism, 84; and centers of strength, 85; and elections, 86; position in 1919, 8687; in control, 91, 92, 113; argu­ ment of, 93; splits, 106; at Danzig,

29 I

113, 115; in minority, 136; and social democracy, 139; on Bund’s decline, 140; Communist view of, 175-176; and PPS defeat at Lodz, 189 Lenin, Nikolai (pseudonym of V. I. Ulyanof), 30, 31, 38, 56, 58-60, 64, 65, 122; Bund on, 39, 200-201; and Jewish problem, 78 Leningrad, 202 Leviathan, 12 Levine, Jacob, h i Lewica (left-wing PPS), 14, 37; and Polish independence, 38; and Bund, 38, 50, 77; and Bolshevik revolution, 76; and SDKPiL, 77; and Communist Party of Poland, 77

Lichtenstein, Israel, 52, 186 Lieberman, Aaron, 22 Liebermann, Herman, 14, 166 Liebknecht, Karl, 89 Lithuania, 21, 96; Bund in, 25, 34, 53; and W orld War I, 37; and Jews, 182 Little Poland, 21 Litvinov, Maxim, 239 Lloyd George, David, 46 Lodz, 34n, 52, 109; in 1905 Revolu­ tion, 32; unions in, 34; arrest of councilmen, 99; Combund faction in, 116, 120; Socialist defeat, 129130; site of 1930 Bund convention, 186; Jewish teachers in, 211; gen­ eral strike in, 213; election of 1936 in, 221-222; Bund victory in, 224; PPS victory in, 224 London, 138, 235 Lublin, 69, 85, 99; Bund conference in, 69-70; tobacco industry in, 209; general strike in, 213; Bund victory in, 221; Bundist executed in, 233; Ghetto destroyed, 251 Luftwaffe, 227 Luxemburg, Rosa, 38; and Com­ munist Party of Poland, 77; and Jewish problem, 78 Lvov, Prince George, 56, 6on Lwow, 99; general strike in, 213; Socialist majority in, 224 Magdeburg, 146 Magistracies, 140, 184

292

In dex

Mapai, 182 Mapam, 182 “March Socialists,” 64 Martov, Lev (pseudonym of Iulli Ossipovitch Tsederbaum), 23, 31, 38; and Bund, 30, 58» 108 Marx, Karl, 3n, 65, 123; on na­ tionality question, 3-4, 263; and 1863 revolution, 14 Marxism, 64-65, 204 Matzoth, 172 May Day, 206 Medem, Vladimir, u n , 37, 41, 5859, 61, 121; on coalition, 57; on Bolsheviks, 58-59, 63, 92; on Men­ sheviks, 63; and Bund right wing, 88-89, 92» 95; on Zionism, 182-183 Medem Sanatorium: attacked by Communists, 161; destruction of, 242 Medzieczyn, 242 Mendelson, Shloyme, on G ovem ment-in-Exile, 245 Mensheviks, 7, 31, 58, 66, 72; and Bund, 31, 33, 35, 39» 57» 63; and 1905 Revolution, 32; and Lewica, 38; Medem’s views of, 121-122 Meyer, David, 37, 4m Michalewicz (Michalevitch), Benush: on Bolshevik rule, 64, 65; on SDKPiL, 76; and Bund right wing, 92 Middle East, 17, 183; threat of war in, 248-249 Miedzyrec, 236 Militia (Bund), 251 Mill, John (Joseph), 23, 25; on na­ tionality problem, 27 Mine, P. (used pseudonym Alex­ ander), 38n, 116; and Combund, n o , 118-119 Ministry of Education and Yiddish schools, 153-154 Minority, permanent, 260 Minsk, 23, 24, 26, 102 Molotov, V. M., 239 M o m e n t , D e r , 212-213 Moraczewski, A., 90, 121-122, 152 Morgenthau, Henry, Sr., 74-75 Mosciski, Ignacy, 151-152, 223 Moscow, 15, 95, 109, n o , 120, 136 Murray, Philip, 239 Muskat, Z., 37

Mussolini, Benito, 12 Myth: as defined by Georges Sorel, 5; revolutionary, 6; and Bund, 122, 195, 204» 265-267 N a je r F o lk sc a jtu n g : closed by Pil-

sudski, 170; Chmumer on board of, 189 Narodowe Sily Zbrinje and antiSemitism, 252n Narutowicz, Gabriel, 130, 146 N a sza W a lk a , 170 N a tio n , T h e : on Piludski regime, 153; on Polish Socialists, 216; on Polish anti-Semitism, 219 National cultural autonomy, 9, 1617» 35» 55» 73» 88, 181, 263; and Zionists, 18; and Bolsheviks, i n ; and Socialists, 222; and Czarist empire, 263; and Poland, 264; as ruse, 264 National Democratic Party (Zwiazek Ludowo-Narodowo, Endek, Endec ja), 12, 13, 46, 89, 97, 130, 154, 210, 211, 215, 220-221, 223; and PPS, 141; and Pilsudsld, 144145, 154, 192; and Ozon, 205; split in, 208; and strikes, 212, 220; dur­ ing occupation, 234; and G ovem ment-in-Exile, 244-245; and fall of Poland, 245; and Christianity, 246; and Jewish homeland, 247-248 National minorities: Bund view of, 72; in 1922 election, 129; and Govemment-in-Exile, 246-247 National Party of Workers (Narodowa Partja Robotnicza), 15; and Polish soviets, 80 National Radical Party (Obor Narodowo Radykalny, Nara, O N R ), 12, 208, 210; and anti-Semitism, 208, 211, 214, 215, 220; in universi­ ties, 215; during occupation, 234; and Government-in-Exile, 245; and Christianity, 246 Nationalism: as attribute of capital­ ism, 3; and Polish regime, 73, 123; alliance against, 141 Nationalists, 126 Nationality, 3 Nationality problem, 68; and Com­ munist Party of Poland, 77-78

In dex Nazis (National Socialist German Workers Party), 177, 195-196; oc­ cupation of Poland by, 225-258; and Bund leaders, 228, 259-260; and Jewish schools, 229-230; and destruction of Jewish community, 259; and Israel, 264; and myth of Bund, 266; see also Germany and Hitler, Adolf Neuerman, Abraham, 173 N ew Deal (U.S.), 164 N e w Epoch in the Jewish Labor M ovement, The , 23 N e w York Times, The, 165-166 Niebuhr, Reinhold, 239 Niedzialkowski, Mieczyslaw, i47n; and Bund, 170-171; and defense of Warsaw, 227-228 Niewiadomski, Eligiusz, 130-131 N K V D , 236 Non-Party Government Bloc (Bezpartyjny Blok Wspolpracy z Rzadem), 154 Novogrodsk, Emanuel, 37n; Bund emissary to Comintern, 109 N ow e Pismo, 170-171 Numerus clausus, 27 October 17, Manifesto of, 33 Octobrists, 62 Odessa, 28, 103 O g Agitatsye, 24 Okhrana, 29 Oppression and myth of Bund, 266 Organized revenge and Bund, 32 Ozher, Mauritzi, 196 Ozon (Oboz Zjednoczenia Narodowy, O ZN): program of, 205; and Socialists, 206; and Bund, 206, 217, 218; and Jews, 215-216; politi­ cal decline, 222, 224; split, 223; during occupation, 234 Paderewski, Ignace Jan, 90, 122 Pale of Setdement, 21, 22, 28, 34; as battleground in W orld War I, 36 Palestine: and Bund, 17, 183; and Zionists, 17-18, 182-183; Jews in, 182-183; and mass emigration, 221; as Jewish homeland, 247-248 Pan-Slavic Confederation, 12 Paris, 8, 184 Parliamentary democracy, 84, 191»

293

260-261; and Communists, 260-261 Parliament-in-Exile (Polish), and Zygelboym, 181, 232, 243 Patriotism, and Socialists, 40 Peace, and Bund (1917), 59 Peasant strike, 220 Peasants’ Party (Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, “Piast”), 3, 131 ; in 1922 election, 129; and Pilsudski, 154; and Centrolew, 166; in exile, 244 Peter the Great (Czar), 203 Petrograd, see St. Petersburg Philanthropy, 49 Pilsudski, Josef, 12, 13, 14, 154, 193; and Jews, 46, 180, 208; and Polish independence, 73; and Bund, 73, 148, 152, 170, 192; and war with Soviet Union, 96, 143-144; and Dmowski, 144-145; biographical sketch, 144-146; myth of, 146; philosophy of, 146, 148-149; and democracy, 146, 149, 151-152, 153, 165-166, 170; march on Warsaw, 146-147; and Socialists, 147, 166; and labor, 147-148, 169; heads “Non-Party Bloc,” 154, 157; and Daszynski, 167; heirs of, 193, 205; death of, 195, 205 Pilsudski bloc, 166-168 Pinsk, 34n Piotrokow, 99; Bund victory in, 221; Socialist majority in, 224 Pismo Codzienne, 170 Plekhanov, Georgi, 24, 31, 56; and Bund, 30; and Russian govern­ ment, 57 Poale Zion, i3n, 15, 37, 81, 97, 182, 221; and Bund, 15, 19; and Pales­ tine, 16, 234-235; philosophy of, 19; and 1916 election, 52; split in, 101; and Combund, 117; and Pil­ sudski, 147 Poale Zion (left): in union federa­ tion, 127; and Zionists, 182; and Bund, 182; and general strike, 213 Poale Zion (right): and Zionists, 182; and Bund, 182; and general strike, 213 Pogroms, instigated by Czar, 20; in Kishinief and Gomel, 27; and 1905 Revolution, 33; and Bund, 47; in Poland, 74-76

2Ç4

In dex

Poland, i, 2, 21, 68, 89, 121; political conditions in, 5, 74, 89, 123, 125, 143- 144, 146, 165-166, 174» 195, 204, 205; national minorities in, 12; and national cultural autonomy, 17, 265; Jews in, 20, 21, 75, 141, 182, 193, 219, 225-228, 248^250, 264; and Bund, 34-35, 44-45, 72, 83, 217, 220, 235, 250, 260, 264, 268; and Germany, 35, 43-44, 201, 225-227, 267; and W orld War I, 37; eco­ nomic conditions in, 42, 70, 146, 164-165; independence of, 68, 144145; and Russian Revolution, 71; war with Soviet Union, 79, 96, 97, 98; relations with Soviet Union, 100; Socialists in, 158-163, 262; Poale Zion and, 182; and Hitler, 201, 209, 225, 226, 227, 238; after W orld War II, 259 Police, Czarist, 28; in Danzig, 113; Polish, 128-129, 173-174 Polish Corridor, 201 Polish protectorate, 69 Polish socialist Party (Polska Partja Socjalistyczna, PPS), 2, 3, 13, 14, 15; and Bund, 2, 10, 11, 14, 26, 38, 51, 7 3 , 8 3 , 9 9 , 112, 124, 126, 129, 140-141, 154-157, 155-156, 157-163, 164-172, 184-187, 193, 214, 216, 219, 221-222, 223-224, 227-228, 233-234, 261; and World War I, 7, 37; and Marxism, 14; and National Party of Workers, 15; and nationalism, 37-38, 45, 80; and Russian Revolu­ tion, 76; and Polish soviets, 80; and Jews, 99, 141, 211, 213-214; and Combund, 117; in first gov­ ernment, 121-122; and labor fed­ eration, 127; in 1922 election, 129; in Labor and Socialist Interna­ tional, 134, 185; and Pilsudski, 144- 145, 146-148, 150-152, 154,161; in 1928 election, 154-157; and Communists, 158; in Socialist fed­ eration, 158; and reformism, 159; moves left, 161, 165, 185; modera­ tion of, 165, 190-191; in Centrolew, 166; and all-Socialist bloc, 166; decline of (1930), 167-168; and 1935 election, 205; aids peas­ ant strike, 220; and Ozon regime, 220; and 1938 election, 223; in mu­

nicipal elections of 1938-1939, 224; and seige of Warsaw, 227; splits, 233; and Ghetto army, 252; revo­ lutionary posture of, 262 Polish Socialists, split from PPS, 233-234; and Ghetto army, 252 Politburo (of Soviet Communist Party), 191, 202 Political Committee (Bund), 228 Political parties, 2, 141 Political party, 1; defined by Burke, 1-2; role of, 260; potential influ­ ence of, 262-263; Bund as, 268-270 Political reality, and Bund, 260 Political system, 1 Popular front: as Communist tactic, 177-178; Bund on, 178 Populist Party (U.S.), 2 Portnoy, Noah, 37, 85 Posen, 148 Postal authorities, 211 PPS-in-Exile and Bund-in-Exile, 243-244 Praga, 251 Pressure groups, minor parties as, 2 Progressive Party (U.S.), 2 Proportional representation, Sherer view of, 246 Prussia, 14, 21 Prystor, Colonel Alexander, 166 Przytyk, 211 Purge (Soviet), 237 Radom, 86 Rafes, Moshe, i n , 113, 120, 121 Rahde (Ukraine), h i Rahde (Warsaw Action Commit­ tee), 39, 40 “Real Russians,” 215 Red Army, 109; and terror, 65; reaches Vistula, 79, 96; in eastern Poland, 236; and postwar Poland,

259 Red Guard, 6on Reformists, 71-72; and Bund, 203 Reichstag, 89, 197 Religious parties (Jewish in Po­ land), 221 Renner, Karl, 16, 263 R e r w n N o v a r u m y 13 Revisionist Zionists, 251-252 Revolution, 1905, 32-33

In dex Revolution, Russian, see Russian Revolution Revolution, world, 90 Ribbentrop, Joachim von, 227 Riga, 34 Right wing (Bund), 9, 88-90; defied by left wing, 82; as revolutionary Socialists, 83; and democracy, 84, 89; view of Soviet Union, 89-90; defeat of, 90; and social democ­ racy, 92; and Bolsheviks, 92; and centrists, 92; leaderless, 95; weak position of, 113 Robotniky 144, 185, 214, 228 Russia, 21, 35, 36, 46, 71, 89, 98; and National Democrats, 12; PPS view of, 14; Polish rebellion against, 21; and Jews, 21, 182; in W orld War I, 40, 50; Bund in, 53, 103; and Eastern Europe, 75-76; and Pilsudski, 144-145 Russian language, 25, 27 Russian Revolution, 3, 12, 35, 54-56, 72, 101; Socialists and, 8, 75; and Bund, 53, 54, 267; and Eastern Europe, 75; and SDKPiL, 77; and Lewica, 77; and Lithuanian Bund, 131-132; leaders slain, 202; and Stalin-Hitler Pact, 226 Russian Social Democratic Workers Party (RSDRP) : and Bund, 3, 2930, 33, 38, 50; organization of, 26; and PPS, 27; 1903 congress of, 3031; internal strife, 31, 56-59; in 1905 Revolution, 32 Russo-Japanese War, 32; and Pilsudski, 144-145 St. Petersburg, 24, 37, 61; as Bund center, 53; Soviet in, 44, 56; Bol­ shevik riots in, 58-59; Leningrad, 202 Sanacja, 168, 192, 212, 214, 245 Scheidemann, Phillip, 142 Schools (H ebrew), and K e h illa th , 180 Schools (Yiddish): and Bund, 41, 49, 99, 124, 125, 268; Jewish folk, 125; and PPS, 141; and Pilsudski regime, 153—154; and K e h illa th , 180; recognition of, 181; and gen­ eral strike, 212 ; during Nazi occu­ pation, 227-230

295

Schwartzbard, Dr. A., 247-248 Sejm, 15, 84, 85, 9 7 , 125, 141* H3* 155, 223; Bund and, 86, 89, 128; and Pilsudski, 166; and Socialists, 262 Self-defense units, 220 Senate (Polish), 167 Seyda, Marion, 244 Sherer, Emanuel: on Communists, 190; member of Parliament-inExile, 243n; on Government-inExile, 246-247 Shulman, Victor, 37, 71 Siberia, 32; Pilsudski in, 144-146 Skif (Sotsialistisher Kinder Ferayn),

^33

Skobelev, M. I., 56-57 Skwarczynski, General, 223 Slawek, Colonel Valerian, 154, 205 Smygly-Rydz (Rydz-Smygly), Col­ onel E., 205 Snaidmill, Berek, 252 Social clubs, 99 Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (Socialna Demokracja Krolestwa Polskiego i Litwy, SDKPiL), 14, 37; and Polish independence, 38; and Bund, 38, 50, 76; and Communists, 38, 76, 77; factional strife in, 51; on Yiddish, 76 Social Democratic parties, 175 Social Democratic Party (German in Poland), i3n; and Bund, 140141; and Pilsudski, 147, 149; and Socialist Federation, 158; and Brzesc attack, 214; and Nazis, 247 Social Democratic Party (Ukrain­ ian), 125, 158 Social Democratic Party of Den­ mark, 7 Social Democratic Party of Ger­ many (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD), 86; and World War I, 6, 40, 41, 42; and Bund, 71-72, 83, 138, 267; in Labor and Socialist International, 185, 197; moderation of, 190-191; pride of Socialist world, 195; and H indenburg, 196, 197; Communist view of, 198; and rise of Hitler, 198-199; failure of, 199-200 “Social Fascists,” 161, 172, 175

296

In dex

“Social pacifists” 104 Social revolution, 64 Social Revolutionary Party (Social­ ist Revolutionists, Socialist Rev­ olutionary Party, Social Revolu­ tionists), 7, 32, 56 Socialism, 9, 16, 26; Medem defines, 64-65; revolutionary, 159 Socialist election bloc, 51 Socialist federation proposed in Po­ land, 158 Socialist (Second) International, 40, 104; formed, 6; demise of, 6; res­ urrected, 7; merges, 8; Jewish Socialists and, 24; on forced la­ bor, 43; and Bund, 83, 91-92, 115 Socialist movement (Jewish), in Czarist Russia, 22-24 Socialist movement (Polish), 37, 6869

,

143

Socialist movement (world) : and nationality question, 4; and Com­ intern, 104 Socialist order, 9 Socialist parties (Jewish), splits in, 95

Socialist Party (Austria), 7, 93; and national cultural autonomy, 263 Socialist Party (Belgium), 7, 198 Socialist Party (Estonia), 198 Socialist Party of France (SFIO), 7, 40, 104, 139, 198 Socialist Party of Italy, 104, 138-139 Socialist Party of Sweden (left), 139 Socialist Party of Switzerland, 7 Socialist Party of the United States, 2, 7, 104, 197-198 Socialist Red Cross, 228-229 Socialist unity and Bund, 157-163, 169, 190-191, 193, 222 Socialist Workers Party, 213 S ocialistisze B ie te r , 189 Socialists (Jewish), 23 Socialists (Russian), and 1905 Rev­ olution, 32-33 Socialists, Popular (in Russia), 56 “Soft” faction (of Bund), 33 Sorel, Georges, 5, 267 Soviet power, 90 Soviet Union, 63, 121; war with Poland, 79, 96, 109; Bund views of, 92, 139, 172, 176-178, 203, 259-260, 267; oppression in, 136;

and Germany, 177; and W orld War II, 233; Jewish parties and, 234-235; and Polish Govemmentin-Exüe, 235; and anti-Fascist committee, 237-238 Soviets (Polish), see Councils of Workers’ Delegates Soviets (Russian), 56, 58 Spaak, Paul Henri, i98n Splinter groups (Bund), 31 Stalin (Dzugeshvilli), Josef: and purge, 195, 202-203; and totali­ tarianism, 203; pact with Hitler, 226; and Erlich and Alter, 237-238 Stalinites, 203 Starzinski, Mayor, 227 Stockholm, 56 Students (Jewish), 27, 215 Syrkin, Nahum, 19 Szapiro, Jerzy, *65 Szeptycki, General, 146 Tam ow, 126, 171; general strike in,

*13

Tcheldadze (Tchkeidze, Chkeidze, Chekiadze), N . S., 56 Territorialists, 15, 81; split, 101 Terror, and Bund, 32; of Bolsheviks, 65 Thaelmann, Ernst, 142, 174 Thugutt, Stanislas, 167 Tobacco industry, and Jews, 209 Tokyo, Pilsudski in, 144 Totalitarianism: Bund and, 191, 267; Alter on, 203-204 Trade schools, 210 Trade Union Federation, and Pil­ sudski, 163-164 Trade unions: and Bund, 25, 41, 49; repression of, 99 Transcaucasian Social Democratic Party, 3on Trotsky (Bronstein), Lev, 138 Trotskyism, in Communist Party of Poland, 15 Trudoviks, 56 Tsederbaum, Iulli Ossipovitch, see Martov, Lev Tsertelli, Irakii Georgievich, 57, 58,

63

Tsukunft (Bund youth organiza­ tion), 139-140, 206, 233 T s v a y e r (minority Bund faction), 11

In dex Twenty-one conditions of Comin­ tern, 104-106, 113, 136; and Bund, 122, 266 Ukase of 1794, 21 Ukraine, 79, 96; and W orld War I, 37; Bund in, 53; and Jews, 182 Ukrainians (in Poland), 45, 68 Uncer Cajt, 124 Une er Folkscajtung, on Pilsudski, 150-151 Uncer Kinder, 125 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, see Soviet Union United front: Bund and, 140, 174176; and Communists, 174-176; and Socialists, 175 United Kingdom, see Britain United States, 2, 74-76, 232, 238, 243; as home of Jews, 182 Universities (Polish), and Jews, 207; ghetto benches in, 215 Upper Silesia, 201 Utopia, 65 Utopian socialism of Syrkin, 19 Vasser, Haym, 71, n o Vecker D er, 241 Vilno, 22, 23, 24, 28; Bund in, 24, 33, 102-103, 221; unions in, 34; ethnic composition of, 132; and Jewish intellectuals, 132; “Jerusa­ lem of Lithuania,” 132; Pilsudski’s birthplace, 144; general strike in, 213; Socialists in, 224 Vitebsk, 24, 103 Volhynia, 21 Volksdeutsche, and Nazis, 246-247 Vyshinsky, Andrei, 238-239

,

Walka, 244 Warsaw, 23, 24, 34n, 43, 47, 85, 86, 90, n o , 135; 1905 Revolution in, 32; and W orld War I, 40, 70; city council, 98, 99; Combund in, 116, 120; unions in, 125-126; center of Bund, 139, 221, 224; Pilsudski in, 146; tobacco industry in, 209; gen­ eral strike in, 212; self-defense units in, 220; PPS victory in, 224; Nazis capture, 227, 228; Ghetto in, 240-243, 255, 268 Warsaw Chamber of Lawyers, 167

297

Warsaw Committee (Bund), 228 Warsaw Soviet, 80-81 Warszawer Radio, 213 Weimar Republic, end of, 196, 199 Weinshtein, Jeremiah, 61, 103; and Mine, 110 Wels, Otto, 197, 199-200 Willkie, Wendell, 237 Witos, Wincenty, 97, 130, 143-144; and Pilsudski, 146, 147, 167 Witos-Grabski regime, 193 Wojciechowski, Stanislav, 131 W orld Jewish Congress, and Jewish emigration, 216 W orld War I, 35, 36, 39; Bund on, 39» 40» 59-6o; effect on Bund, 5253; and Pilsudski, 145 Wydzial Zydowski przy Komisji Centralnej (Central Committee of Jewish Trade Unions), 127 Wyzwolenie (Populist Party), 14, 129, 166, 167 Yevsektsie (Jewish Section of Rus­ sian Communist Party), 103 Yiddish, 17, 22, 25, 27, 35, 181; and Bund, 49, 179; and Kehillath, 180; as official language, 181, 250; and artisans, 210 Youth groups, disbanded, 99 Zaleska, Mme, 247 Zaremba, Zygmunt, 186-187, 227 Zasulich, Vera, 24 Zdanowski, Antoni, 232 Zhidowski, 29 Zhordania, M., 3on Zinoviev, Gregory, 142; and purge trials, 202-203 “Zinoviev clique,” Erlich on, 203 Zionism, 17-19; and socialism, 19; and Bund, 179, 182-183, 265 Zionists, 18; and Jewish problem, 17-19; and Palestine, 17-19, 248; and Hebrew, 19; and Bund, 29, 77; gains, 139; and Yiddish schools, 153; in 1928 elections, 155; and Asia, 183; and Europe, 183; and Arabs, 183-184; and general strike, 214-215; and mass emigra­ tion, 216, 220, 221; in Ghetto, 240241; and Israel, 264-265 Zionists, General, 52

298

In dex

Zlotys, 235-236 Zubatov, S. V., 28 Zwiazek Stowarzyszen Zawodych w Polce (United Federation of Trade Unions in Poland), 127 Zwiazkowiec, 233

Zygelboym, Shmuel Mordecai (Ar­ thur): on K e h illa th , 180-181; liai­ son with PPS, 227; named hostage, 230; in Judenrat, 230-232; family slain, 243; in Parliament-in-Exile, 243, 248-251, 257; suicide of, 258