The Jewish Bund

The Jewish Bund
[this is a picture of a poster for an election within the Bund]
INTRODUCTION The Bund was a Jewish Political Party of Labor Workers. Founded in 1897, it was a secular socialist movement that contained Jews from all over Eastern Europe. The official name was in Yiddish "Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland" (in English means, The General Jewish Labour Union of Lithuania, Poland and Russia) and the Yiddish language was an important part of the Bund philosophy. IDEAS The ideology of the Bund was to unite the Jewish communities within the huge Russian Empire into one political party. At this time the majority of the the Jews lived in this part of the world and in general had very left-wing political ideas. Politically, the Bund were supporters of socialism and democracy at a time when both these ideas were very very radicals. They worked primarily in the form of a trade union where they provided essential services for many people as well as fighting the government and the bosses. In addition to that they worked as well as a political party. RUSSIAN REVOLUTION During the early-19th century Russian socialist movements were rising at a quick pace and Russia had a mini- revolution in 1905. The Bund were very much part of that revolution with Jews involved from Jewish towns and villages across Russia. The Bolsheviks believed in a united working-class and had issues with the Bund over it being a Jewish organisation. In general Lenin did not like the Bund and partly due to this after the 1917 October Revolution the Bund split with one section joining the Bolsheviks and the others forming a new group called the Jewish Communist Bund. This new group did not last long though, during a time where the Bolsheviks were not keen on different ideas, in 1921 it was dissolved. But the Bund still continued in Poland and Lithuania.
	ON ZIONISM The Bundists believed that Zionism was not the solution to the problems the Jews face. They believed the creation of a Jewish state would not be a paradise and the problems of capitalism such as poverty and war would still occur. Some Bundists did migrate to Palestine and were heavily involved in the development of the Kibbutzim and the future Israeli Left. However most Bundists preferred to build a better society for everyone in the countries which they were living in.
FIGHTING ANTI-SEMITISM On Jewish issues the Bund were very much involved in promoting Jewish culture and fighting against anti-semitism. Especially among Jewish culture they promoted the Yiddish-Languages and their material is often in Yiddish. The disagreed with the Zionists against Hebrew and promoted Yiddish greatly as the language of the Jews. They did have good relations with the Socialist-Zionists and together formed self-defence groups against pogroms and government troops. During the Holocaust the Bund organised to fight against the Nazis. Many Bund members were involved in the formation of a group named "Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa" (in English means The Jewish Fighting Organisation) and in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The Nazis killed a huge percentage of the Jewish population in Poland and within that included the majority of the Bund. From the survivors of the Holocaust few Jews stayed in Poland and the Bund was virtually dead. Some Jews and Bund members did stay in Poland and continued the group for a few years but it was disbanded in 1949.