Pick a pic and ask a question.
Visit the YIVO encyclopedia's article on the BUND and ask a question on one of the documents/photographs it cites. Post the questions here and clearly indicate which artifact you're interpreting. My personal favorite is the torn photo of the Bundist demonstration.
commenting on: [“Members of the Bund’s self-defense organization killed 23–26 April 1905, in Chudnov [now in Ukraine].” Russian–Polish postcard with portraits of (left to right) P. Gorvits, Y. Brodski, and A. Fleysher. (YIVO)]
ReplyDeletethe article states that the movement's original goal was to incorporate the jewish worker who had been discriminated upon into the regular working class revolutionaries. however, the bund quickly started holding jewish events and in a short time carved out a very defined, non-integrated image for themselves. the move to accept yiddish as their language really solidified their role as a jewish political group. once this happened there was propaganda and other tactics used to separate the bund even more. the picture makes martyrs of three dead bund members and seems to be telling the reader that they were good jews and bund members. this kind of alienation of non-bund/ jew (the line between the bund and judaism is unclear for now) people/ entities. What happened to the desire to join the mainstream revolution???
Tani
commenting on the picture of the Local members of the Bund in Borisov, Russia (now Belarus), 1904 (YIVO.
ReplyDeleteIn the photograph there are both men and women alike; however, some of the men and women have tie- like things around their necks. What do the ties symbolize, and why are only some of the members wearing them?
-Julia
comment on:
ReplyDeleteMembers of Tsukunft, a youth movement of the Bund, putting up election posters in Baranowicze, Poland (now Baranavichy, Bel.), ca. 1930. (YIVO)
From this picture is looks like these boys are very into whoever they are campaighning for, why is that? Today most children their age, with a few exceptions, are not as intune with the elections and the personalities of the people running for office. What made these children so interested and passionate about the coming election that they would go out in the cold to hang up signs (and not just with a stapeler either)?
A Bundist demonstration in 1905, a year of anti-tsarist revolutionary activity throughout the Russian Empire, Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Lat.). (YIVO)
ReplyDeleteClearly this picture was posed, that being said, was this picture taken to be placed in a Yiddish newspaper to document a demonstration, or was the picture taken for the purpose of recruiting more members to join the Bund?
for: A Bundist demonstration in 1905, a year of anti-tsarist revolutionary activity throughout the Russian Empire, Dvinsk
ReplyDeleteThe whole goal of the Tsarist Autocracy was to give one person, the Tsar, absolute power and control of the society. This way there would be order and structure within the community.
When zooming into this photo i can see men, woman, chefs, children, all different sorts and clothes and faces. This variety of people, ages and occupations gives the opposite of a sense of order and structure within the society.
My question is, by representing themselves as the complete opposite of the idea of a Tsarisic Autocracy was the Bundist community helping themselves or hurting themselves? Would this way of protest cause the Tsar to try even harder for his goal of order and absolute power or intimidate him to the point of giving up?
Yiddish poster, Kiev, ca. 1918. Its message urges Jews to vote for the Bund in an election following the Russian Revolution; non-Bolshevik parties were at that time still tolerated by the regime.
ReplyDeleteTo what extent did this "Jewish identity" matter to Bund members? Was it merely a strategy for massing large numbers of people together or did Bund leaders truly care for that identity. Perhaps these matters evolved over time, as the article seems to suggest (at first Jewish identity not so important-rid of "Jewish milieu" and yiddish for convenience, later no "Jewish goals" but want rights specifically for "Jewish working class", eventually want "national, culural autonomy" as well-including yiddish now as a "national language"). However, even examining the latter years which seem to emphasize Jewish identity more explicitly (prima facia :)) what type of Jewish identity is being emphasized here? Is it religious, is it cultural? Otherwise, what would be the importance of having your own movement? Why wouldn't the members have joined other movements? I think the perplexity of this question is furthered when looking at the poster. On it is written, “There, where we live, there is our country! A democratic republic! Full political and national rights for Jews. Ensure that the voice of the Jewish working class is heard at the Constituent Assembly.” There's talk of political and national rights but no mention of religious, which seems to suggest more of a Jewish cultural emphasis (even though that's also oddly left out). The poster pushes for the voice of the Jewish working class to be heard at the Constituent Assembly, yet this voice is still very undefined, just as the person depicted on the poster who is presumably meant to represent this same voice does not seem to be wearing anything which would suggest he's Jewish (in fact, no stars of david at all on the poster). He could be anyone. At the end of the day is it only the "voice" that matters-the strategy originally used to gather many, many members eventually becomes the movement even though it was simply a part of the process? Were numbers (the strength of that voice) more important than who the voice was that was yelling for the movement?
“Members of the Bund’s self-defense organization killed 23–26 April 1905, in Chudnov [now in Ukraine].” Russian–Polish postcard with portraits of (left to right) P. Gorvits, Y. Brodski, and A. Fleysher. (YIVO
ReplyDeleteThe Bund had a very great self defense and at that time the largest and best-organized Jewish party in Eastern Europe. What made these three important men appear on the postcard that died? what important role did they play in the self defense of the Bund? The three people shown on the pictures all look like a different age. The one in the center looks the oldest and the other two look like adolescents. what could have they possibly done involving the Bunds in self defense that made them so important?
I am asking a question about “Members of the Bund’s self-defense organization killed 23–26 April 1905, in Chudnov [now in Ukraine].”
ReplyDeleteIn the picture, the three men are posed respectfully in suits and with serious expressions, but are wearing no sort of identification that represents Judaism. The text says, "The Bund played a significant role in the organization of Jewish self-defense during the pogroms of 1903–1906... It was at that time the largest and best-organized Jewish party in Eastern Europe."
If they were fighting for Judaism, why don't they externally identify themselves as Jews? How important is Judaism to them when compared with just general demand for better working conditions and rights to society?
-Rose L.
What I mean by externally identifying themselves as Jews is why aren't they wearing something like yarmulkes?
ReplyDeleteYankl, a member of the Bund, Odessa, ca. 1900. Photograph by K. Mulman. (YIVO)
ReplyDeleteIn this phote the womans arms are crossed and she doesnt look very happy. In my oppinion just by looking at her she seems like an unhappy and unfriendly person. What happened or is happening during the time of the picture that is makign her unhappy. Could it be that she looks uncomfortable because she doesnt feel like she is part of the community like the rest of the Bands.
What seperates the Bund from the American political parties of today? Looking at the pictures of the members of the Bund party at a picnic, Minsk, (1910) and Members of the Bundist youth and sports organizations Tsukunft and Morgnshtern gathered for an event on the TOZ (Society for Safeguarding the Health of the Jewish Population) sports field, Lublin, Poland, 1928. (YIVO), we see a gathering of people from the Bund joined together at a picnic or a large sporting match, with the only discernable reason being their political party. Can you imagine this happening in America? Can you picture Barack Obama, Al Gore, and Nancy Pelosi, and 400 members of the Democratic party playing cricket together or having a nice brunch, without the goal of fundraising? No, of course not. We believe this is what separates the Bund from the Republicans and the Democrats or any of the other political juggernauts in the world today. They are joined not only by political beliefs but also class, community, language, religion, and workplace.
ReplyDeleteMarx wanted a class revolution, what greater proof of a revolution of the proletariat, can a greater proof exist of Marxist futility then what the Bund tried to accomplish? This was in the purest sense Marxism, and it failed miserably. Is Marxism a completely futile idea or were the Bundists kept down because of their Yiddish and Jewish motives? Is this the only example of true Marxism, or were all other attempts bastardizations of his ideas. Is there another example we can look to and see the success of Marxist ideas? Were the Bolsheviks even purely Marxists, or was it really a revolution of the bourgeoisie and not the Proletariat? (by the way, we aren’t Commies.)
By Eleff & Zwillinger
According to this article, Lenin saw the Bund as a distinctly Jewish movement. In what way did the members' Judaism affect their political beliefs? How were their views distinct from similar non-Jewish movement, if at all? Many of the members were not religious, so is it fair to say their political views were shaped by their ethnicity?
ReplyDeleteIn general, is it fair to say a political/socio-economic movement was influenced by reliogion. How would one go about proving such a hypothseis?
Yiddish poster, Kiev, ca. 1918.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting piece of propaganda. The poster says, “There, where we live, there is our country! A democratic republic! Full political and national rights for Jews. Ensure that the voice of the Jewish working class is heard at the Constituent Assembly.” This poster seems to be the opposite of the Zionist party. Much like the Zionist party the Bunds poster focuses on the working class sharing the romanticism of that class. Yet, the Bunds call for the people to stay and vote for the Bunds so jews can coexist within the state. What would cause a people how want “A democratic republic! Full political and national rights for Jews” to not start their own? What held them back? Is this how the Zionist movement started, by the people who were later denied that “democratic republic” or was it something else?
~Noah