The Jewish Social Democratic Party in Galicia (, ''yidisher sotsial-demokratisher partey in galizien'', , abbreviated ŻPS) was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in Galicia and later also

Bukovina Bukovina or ; ; ; ; , ; see also other languages. is a historical region at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe. It is located on the northern slopes of the central Eastern Carpathians and the adjoining plains, today divided betwe ...

, established in a split from the

Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia () was a political party in Galicia. The party was formed in 1890 as the Galician territorial organization of the Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria. In 1892 it took the name Social Democratic Par ...

(PPSD) in 1905. The party made its first public appearance on May 1, 1905, with separate

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rallies in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

and

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

. However, as the new party stressed that it was not a competitor of the existing Social Democratic parties, they later joined the PPSD celebrations.Kuhn, Ric
'The tradition of Jewish anti-Zionism in the Galician socialist movement'
Resistance and class stream, Australasian Political Studies Association APSA50 Conference, Canberra, 2–4 October 2002 The Party, often nicknamed the 'Galician Bund', was influenced by the Bund in Russia and was opposed to Zionism. ŻPS held its founding congress in June 1905. The second congress was held in 1906.Brenner, Michael/Penslar, Derek Jonathan. ''In search of Jewish community : Jewish identities in Germany and Austria, 1918-1933''. Bloomington: Indiana University press, c1998. p. 118 Its founding theoretician and secretary was

Henryk Grossman Henryk Grossman (; pen name Grossmann; 14 April 1881 – 24 November 1950) was a Polish economist, historian, and Marxist revolutionary active in both Poland and Germany. Grossman's key contribution to political-economic theory was his book, ''T ...

. While the Party sought affiliation to the Social Democratic Workers Party of Austria, this was refused. The ŻPS became the largest organisation of Jewish workers in Galicia.Kuhn, Rick ''Henryk Grossman and the Recovery of Marxism'' Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2007. . In the initial period of the existence of the party, it publish a monthly titled ''Der yudisher sotsial-demokrat''. In October 1905 it was replaced by a weekly, ''Der sotsial-demokrat''. As of 1910, ''Der sotsial-demokrat'' had a circulation of 2000.Jacobs, Jack Lester. ''Jewish Politics in Eastern Europe: The Bund at 100''. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001. pp. 141-143 In 1911 the Jewish Social Democracy in Galicia, the Jewish affiliate section of the PPSD, merged into the ŻPS. The Jewish Social Democracy in Galicia had 377 members at the time of the merger. The strength of the party reached its peak when the Bukovina Bundists merged into the party the following year. The united party took the name Jewish Social Democratic Party in Galicia and Bukovina. In 1913, several prominent leaders of the erstwhile Jewish Social Democracy began returning to the PPSD. More devastating for the ŻPS, though, was the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Galicia and Bukovina became battlefield, and party activities ceased. The branch in Kraków was reconstructed in 1916, and in the fall of 1917 there was a conference of delegates from different local ŻPS branches. On 15, 1918 ''Der sotsial-demokrat'' reappeared. In 1920, its organisation in Poland merged with the Polish Bund. In Bukovina, now part of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, the remnants of the party continued to operate under the name 'Bund', and in 1922 they founded (along with Jewish socialists from Old Romania and

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

) the General Jewish Labour Bund in Romania.

Membership

The party had 2,800 members in 1906, by 1908 the figure had risen to 3,600 and by 1910 it claimed a membership of 4,206. At the time, the party had 80 branches in 32 different localities. In 1911, after the merger with the Bukovina Bund, the party had 4,500 members.Jacobs, Jack Lester. ''Jewish Politics in Eastern Europe: The Bund at 100''. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001. p. 144 Except for its organization in Galicia and Bukovina, the party also had presence (at warying times) in

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and Bielsk.

References

{{Reflist 1905 establishments in Austria-Hungary Jewish anti-Zionism in Europe Anti-Zionist political parties Bukovina Jews Bundism in Europe Defunct social democratic parties in Poland Ethnic organizations based in Austria-Hungary Jewish Galician (Eastern Europe) history Jewish political parties Political parties in Austria-Hungary Political parties of minorities Political parties with year of disestablishment missing Socialism in Austria-Hungary

Membership

See also

References