Polish-Jewish Relations: 1,300 Keyword-Phrase-Indexed Book Reviews (by Jan Peczkis)

The Zamosc Memorial Book, by Mordechai V. Bernstein (ed). 1957, 2004. Zamosc Central Committee for Pinkus Zamosc, Buenos Aires, New Jersey

Jewish Schools Communism. Jewish Socialists and Jewish Communists: No Sharp Boundary. Cardinal Hlond Correct: Jews as Freethinkers

This yizkor (yizker) book was originally published in 1957 in Argentina. It generally focuses on mundane matters, but has some information of lasting significance, elaborated below. It treats Communism as some kind of little innocent fad. There is also an entire chapter (pp. 255-262) glorifying Rosa Luxsembourg [Rosa Luksemburg]. It also has the following revealing information:

THE JEWS OF ZAMOSC AND THE 1920 POLISH-SOVIET WAR

After discussing how the Russian Bund was partly transformed into a Communist version, the Kombund, Chaim Shpizeisen writes, “A process of this kind also took place in Zamosc. A group of workers, which came out of the local Bund organization had previously created a ‘Combund‘ [Kombund], and later, they became the ones who founded the Communist organization in Zamosc. As the Bolshevist army drew near to Zamosc in the year 1920, the so-called ‘Red Revolution’ took place by us. A great number of the Jewish elements who were radical sympathizers were drawn into it. After the ‘revolution’ failed, A WHOLE ARRAY of Bundists were compelled to leave Zamosc—some to Russia, some to America.” (p. 308. Italics in original. Emphasis added).

The Jewish support for the Soviet Union, at Zamosc, was obviously substantial. Once again, the boundary between mainstream Jewish socialists (the Bund) and Jewish Communists turned out to be fuzzy.

ZYDOKOMUNA JEWISH SCHOOLS COMMUNISM: INTERWAR POLAND (1918-1939)

Polish government complaints, that Jewish schools in Poland were often infected with Communism, had at least some basis in fact. Moshe Kezman provides a vivid example. He comments “Communism was injected into the Humanistic Jewish Gymnasium in Lublin. As it happens, this was due to the children of the rich balebatim [high-status Jews] and the way it was cut off was to expel them from the Gymnasium. So they came to Zamosc, and brought it with them. This created a tumult, and there was a move to revoke the privileges of the Jewish Gymnasium. After a great deal of intervention, the privileges were not revoked, but a demand was levied by the curatorium that a Christian would have to be engaged as the curator. It was necessary to comply with this demand.” (p. 414. Italics in original).

For more on Communism in the Jewish schools of interwar Poland, see:

https://www.jewsandpolesdatabase.org/2019/11/04/zydokomuna-in-jewish-schools-eisenstein/

CARDINAL AUGUST HLOND WAS RIGHT ABOUT JEWISH FREETHOUGHT

In describing the situation that existed a century before Cardinal Hlond made his now-much-condemned 1936 statement on Jews as freethinkers and vanguards of Bolshevism, Yaakov Schatzky alludes to growing Jewish atheism as he writes, “The number of free-thinking Jews grows. From Galicia, young Maskilim come, and become the teachers in the homes of the balebatim.” (p. 120. Italics in original).