The General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland ( yi, אַלגעמײַנער ײדישער אַרבעטער בּונד אין פוילן, translit=Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter-bund in Poyln, pl, Ogólno-Żydowski Związek Robotniczy "Bund" w Polsce) was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
party in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
which promoted the political, cultural and social autonomy of Jewish workers, sought to combat
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and was generally opposed to
Zionism
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
.
Creation of the Polish Bund
The Polish Bund emerged from the
General Jewish Labour Bund in Lithuania, Poland and Russia of the erstwhile Russian empire. The Bund had party structures established amongst the Jewish communities in the Polish areas of the Russian empire. When Poland fell under German occupation in 1914, contact between the Bundists in Poland and the party centre in
St. Petersburg became difficult. In November 1914 the Bund Central Committee appointed a separate Committee of Bund Organizations in Poland to run the party in Poland. Theoretically the Bundists in Poland and Russia were members of the same party, but in practice the Polish Bundists operated as a party of their own. In December 1917 the split was formalized, as the Polish Bundists held a clandestine meeting in
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
and reconstituted themselves as a separate political party.
Communist split
In April 1920 the first convention of the Polish Bund was held, during which the merger of the
Galician Jewish Social Democratic Party
The Jewish Social Democratic Party in Galicia ( yi, יידישער סאציאל-דעמאקראטישער פארטיי אין גאליציען, ''yidisher sotsial-demokratisher partey in galizien'', pl, Żydowska Partia Socjal-Demokratyczna, abbre ...
into the Bund was materialized. At the conference a dispute over whether the party should join the
Communist International
The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...
erupted. A majority resolution calling for the entry of the party into the Communist International was passed at the convention, but never implemented. As a result, the Polish Bund was divided, with around a quarter of the Polish Bund leaving the party to form the
Communist Bund in 1922 (which subsequently merged into the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
in 1923).
Guide to the YIVO Archives, Volym 0
'. p. 43[Universiṭah ha-ʻIvrit bi-Yerushalayim, and Makhon le-Yahadut zemanenu ʻa. sh. Avraham Harman. ]
Studies in Contemporary Jewry
'. Bloomington, Ind: Indiana University Press, 1984. p. 20
Organizing workers
In 1921, Bund-affiliated
trade unions
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
joined the Central Commission of Class Trade Unions ( pl, Komisja Centralna Zwiazków Zawodowych—KCZZ), the governing council of the Union of Professional Associations ( pl, Związek Stowarzyszeń Zawodowych—ZSZ), the umbrella organization of the
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland.
It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...
trade unions. However, while part of the KCZZ, the Bund unions were not part of the ZSZ.
Merger with Wilno groups
The Bund branch in Wilno (now
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urba ...
) was divided along the same lines as the rest of the Russian Bund in 1920, with a left-wing majority group and a right-wing minority group. The latter was associated with the Russian
Social Democratic Bund
The Social Democratic Bund, or the General Jewish Labour Bund, the Bund (S.D.) or, later, the "Bund" in the Soviet Union ( yi, בונד„ אין ראטן־פֿאַרבאַנד"), was a short-lived Jewish political party in Soviet Russia. It was fo ...
. Both groups were reluctant to join the Polish Bund, even after it had become apparent that Wilno was an integrated part of the Polish state. The Wilno Social Democratic Bund distrusted the Polish Bund for its overtures to the Comintern, stating that the Polish Bund had ceased to be a Social Democratic organization.
[Johnpoll, Bernard K. ''The Politics of Futility; The General Jewish Workers Bund of Poland, 1917-1943''. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1967. pp. 132-137]
In 1923 both Wilno Bund factions merged into the Polish Bund as a united local party organization.
Electoral participation
Contrary to the other Jewish parties, the Bund advocated an electoral cooperation with other Socialists, and not just between either Jewish parties or with other minority parties (in the electoral alliance "
Bloc of National Minorities"). Thence,
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael ( he, אֲגוּדָּת יִשְׂרָאֵל, lit., ''Union of Israel'', also transliterated ''Agudath Israel'', or, in Yiddish, ''Agudas Yisroel'') is a Haredi Jewish political party in Israel. It began as a political party re ...
,
Folkspartei and the various Zionist parties were represented in the
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
, but the Bund never was, mostly because its potential partner, the
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland.
It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...
(PPS), was reluctant to appear as a pro-Jewish party.
[Bernard K. Johnpoll, The politics of futility. The General Jewish Workers Bund of Poland, 1917-1943, Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, 1967]
The party obtained 81,884 votes (0.9%) at the
1922 Sejm election, approximately 100,000 (0.7%) in the
1928 Sejm election and 66,699 at the largely rigged
1930 Sejm election.
In the autumn of 1933 the party issued a call to the Polish public to boycott goods from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, in protest of the
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
regime.
[Lakeberg, Beata.
]
Das Judenbild in den Presseorganen der deutschen Sozialisten in der Zweiten Polnischen Republik
'
In December 1938 and January 1939, at the last Polish municipal elections before the start of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the Bund received the largest segment of the Jewish vote. In 89 towns, one-third elected Bund majorities.
In
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
, the Bund won 61.7% of the votes cast for Jewish parties, taking 17 of the 20 municipal council seats won by Jewish parties. In
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...
the Bund won 57.4% (11 of 17 seats won by Jewish parties).
For the first time, the Bund and the PPS had agreed to call their electors to vote for each other where only one of them presented a list. This however did not go so far as common electoral lists. This alliance made it possible for a Left electoral victory in most great cities: Warsaw, Łódź,
Lwów
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
,
Piotrkow,
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
,
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Białystok is located in the Białystok U ...
,
Grodno
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
,
Wilno
Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...
.
[
After its municipal electoral successes in December 1938 and January 1939, the Bund hoped for a breakthrough at the parliamentary elections due in September 1939, but these were de facto cancelled by the German-Soviet invasion.][
]
Organization
The party organization was based on local and regional groups, which formed the lowest level of party cells. Each group had its local party committee. The highest authority of the Bund resided with the Party Congress, which elected the Central Committee and the Party Council, an advisory group. The Central Committee was composed of delegates designated by the larger local parties.
In 1929 the organization of the party was changed. The Party Council was replaced by the Head Council, which was still organized by the Party Congress, but now the members of Council were selected from the members of the Central Committee.
The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International
The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label=German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a me ...
between September 1930 and 1940.[Kowalski, Werner. ]
Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19
'. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 318
Position towards emigration
In Poland, the activists argued that Jews should stay and fight for socialism rather than emigrate. Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman ( yi, מאַרעק עדעלמאַן, born either 1919 in Homel or 1922 in Warsaw – October 2, 2009 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist. Edelman was the last surviving leader of the ...
once said "The Bundists did not wait for the Messiah, nor did they plan to leave for Palestine. They believed that Poland was their country and they fought for a just, socialist Poland, in which each nationality would have its own cultural autonomy, and in which minorities' rights would be guaranteed." When the Revisionist Zionist
Revisionist Zionism is an ideology developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, who advocated a "revision" of the " practical Zionism" of David Ben-Gurion and Chaim Weizmann which was focused on the settling of ''Eretz Yisrael'' ( Land of Israel) by independe ...
leader Vladimir Jabotinsky
Ze'ev Jabotinsky ( he, זְאֵב זַ׳בּוֹטִינְסְקִי, ''Ze'ev Zhabotinski'';, ''Wolf Zhabotinski'' 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940), born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky, was a Russian Jewish Revisionist Zionist lead ...
toured Poland urging the "evacuation" of European Jewry, the Bundists accused him of abetting anti-Semitism. Another non-Zionist Yiddishist Jewish party at the time in Lithuania and Poland was the Folkspartei.
World War II
On August 26, 1939, the party signed the joint statement of socialist parties in Poland, calling for the people to fight against Hitlerism (other signatories included the German Socialist Labour Party of Poland).
After the 1939 German-Soviet invasion, the Bund continued to operate as an underground anti-Nazi organization in German-occupied Poland. Several Bund leaders and structures stayed in Soviet-occupied Poland and endured the Stalinist repression. Two most eminent Bund leaders, Wiktor Alter and Henryk Erlich
Henryk Ehrlich yi, הענריק ערליך), sometimes spelled ''Henryk Erlich''; 1882 – 15 May 1942) was an activist of the General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland, a Petrograd Soviet member, and a member of the executive committee of the Second ...
were executed in December 1941 in Moscow on Stalin's orders under accusations of being agents of Nazi Germany.
In 1942, the Bundist Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman ( yi, מאַרעק עדעלמאַן, born either 1919 in Homel or 1922 in Warsaw – October 2, 2009 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist. Edelman was the last surviving leader of the ...
became a cofounder of the Jewish Fighting Organization that led the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and was also part of the Polish resistance movement
A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...
Armia Krajowa
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) e ...
(Home Army), which fought against the Germans in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...
.
From March 1942, Samuel Zygelbojm, a member of the Bund Central Committee since 1924, was the Bund's representative on the National Council of the Polish government in exile in London. He committed suicide on May 12, 1943, to protest the indifference of the Allied governments in the face of the Shoah. Zygielbojm's seat in the Polish exile parliament was taken over by Emanuel Scherer.
However, as a Bundist resistant later wrote, the situation differed between the government in exile and the National Polish Council inside Poland, even in July 1944:
The illegal National Council within the country consisted of four parties, the PPS, the Peasant party, the National Democrats, and the Christian Democrats. These groups were represented in the London parliament-in-exile. So was the Bund, represented first by Artur Ziegelboim and then by Emanuel Scherer. But in Poland the National Council would not accept a representative of the Bund.
Post–World War II
After the end of the Second World War, the Bund reorganized itself in Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
. Whilst Zionists organized mass emigration to Palestine after the war, the Bund pinned its hopes to a democratic development in Poland. At the time the Bund had between 2,500 and 3,000 members. Around 500 lived in Łódź. Michal Shuldenfrei was the president of the party, Dr. Shloyme Herschenhorn the vice president. Salo Fiszgrund was the general secretary, assisted by Jozef Jashunski. The party had functioning branches in Warsaw, Łódź and Wrocław
Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...
. The party ran three publications, ''Folkstsaytung'', ''Yungt veker'' and '' Głos Bundu'' (the latter in Polish).[Minczeles, Henri. ''Histoire générale du Bund: un mouvement révolutionnaire juif''. Paris: Editions Austral, 1995. pp. 424–425.]
The Bund began setting up various production cooperatives. Together with Jewish communists, the Bund was active in promoting Polish Jews to settle in areas in Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...
that were previously German territories.
Antisemitic activities continued in Poland after the war, and in Łódź (the main centre of Jewish population in post-war Poland) the Bund retained a militia structure with a secret armory.
The Bund took part in the Polish elections of January 1947 on a common ticket with the Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland.
It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...
(PPS) and gained its first and only Sejm seat in its history, occupied by Michal Shuldenfrei (already a member of the State National Council since 1944), plus several seats in municipal councils.
In 1948 around 400 Bund members illegally left Poland. The Bund was dissolved, along with all other non-communist parties, in 1948 following the consolidation of single-party rule by the Polish United Workers' Party. Schuldenfrei was then ousted from the Communist-led Parliament.
In 1976, Marek Edelman
Marek Edelman ( yi, מאַרעק עדעלמאַן, born either 1919 in Homel or 1922 in Warsaw – October 2, 2009 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist. Edelman was the last surviving leader of the ...
, a former Bundist activist and leader during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, became part of the Workers' Defense Committee["Rz" Online,]
Pożegnanie Marka Edelmana
" (Farewell to Marek Edelman), '' Rzeczpospolita'', 09-10-2009 and later part of the Solidarity trade union movement.["Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Leader Edelman Dies at 90"]
/ref> During the period of martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Martia ...
in 1981, he was interned.[ He took part in the Round Table Talks and served as a member of ]parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
from 1989 until 1993.
See also
*
References
{{Polish political parties
1917 establishments in Poland
1948 disestablishments in Poland
Bundism in Europe
Defunct socialist parties in Poland
Jewish anti-Zionism in Poland
Jewish Polish history
Jewish political parties
Members of the Labour and Socialist International
Political parties disestablished in 1948
Political parties established in 1917
Political parties of minorities in Poland
Political parties of the Russian Revolution
Jewish groups in Poland