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STANISŁAW KRAJEWSKI

Jews, Communism, and the Jewish = Communists

Ten Theses

1. Marxism, radical leftist ideologies, and =91real = socialism=92=20 constitute not only a fragment of

world history, and of Polish or Hungarian history, but = also a=20 chapter of Jewish history.

2. Anti-Semites have grossly exaggerated the Jewish = involvement in=20 communism, distorted

the facts, and interpreted them according to conspiracy = theories.=20 Jews were also victims of

communism.

3. Jewish communists rarely cared about Jewish concerns = and often=20 virtually stopped being

Jewish.

4. Some of those who had abandoned Jewishness later came = back. The=20 number of Jewish

communists, and their role, was so important that other = Jews must=20 not ignore it.

5. The deepest problem is posed by the quasi-religious = character=20 of the communist

involvement of some Jews.

6. There is no distinctive Jewish radicalism. There is = no =91Jewish=20 communism=92. Jews became

communists because of general mechanisms.

7. It was not Judaism or Jewish traditions but the = social=20 situation that led Jews to involvement

in communism.

8. Participation in evil can begin with noble and = selfless=20 intentions.

9. Moral responsibility can be indirect. Reemerging = Jewish=20 communities in Eastern Europe

should face the legacy of Jewish participation in = communism.=20 However, accepting a Jewish

share of moral responsibility does not make non-Jews = less=20 responsible.

10. Objective research is needed to clarify the extent = and nature=20 of Jewish participation in

communism. The tragic consequences of the anti-Semitic = myth of=20 =91Jewish communism=92

should impose no taboo.

Introductory Remarks

The phrase =91Jews and communism=92 immediately brings = to mind two=20 sets of associations.

The first image, common in the West, is that of the=20 persecution = of Jews in communist

countries: the destruction of religious traditions; the = doctors=92=20 plot and, more generally,

Stalin=92s anti-Semitism, which almost led to the = large-scale murder=20 of Jews; the fate of

refusniks and = the=20 discrimination against Jews in the Soviet Union; official anti-Semitism = in

Poland in 1967=9668. The second set of associations, = popular in East=20 Central Europe and

beyond, is expressed as the image of =91Jewish = communism=92: Jews as=20 the founders of leftist

movements and as communist leaders in the states that = were=20 governed by communist parties;

persecuting Christian religions; preeminent in the = bloody=20 communist dictatorships.

Now, the first image is true but it does not represent = the total=20 picture of the

relationship of Jews with communism. The second image is = false but=20 it does point to certain

facts, specifically to the large number of Jews among = active=20 communists. As Andre W. M.

Gerrits puts it: the power of the association of Jews = with=20 communism comes from the fact that

=93it was based on elements of fiction and reality=94.1=20 The myth of =91Jewish communism=92 = is only a

myth. What is real is the existence and importance of=20 Jewish = communists. The distinction

made by Gerrits had been made earlier by Jaff Schatz in = the most=20 important book-length study

of the topic,2=20 and also by me.3 This reality=20 has been subjected to surprisingly little research.

The neglected topic=97which I propose to consider = now=97is then not so=20 much =91Jews

and communism=92, not =91Jews under communism=92, and = certainly not=20 =91Jewish communism=92, but

rather =91Jewish communists=92. In addition to seeing = this topic as a=20 subject for scholarly research

I propose its less objective variant: =91Jewish = communists as a=20 Jewish concern=92. My remarks can

serve only as a loose introduction to the problem that = in my=20 opinion deserves study by

scholars and reflection by Jews, even by those who have = never met=20 a communist.4

It should also be mentioned that my interest is not = devoid of=20 personal motivation. In

the 1970s, I read a remarkable book of conversations = between two=20 great writers, Czesław

Miłosz and Aleksander Wat, Pamiętnik=20 m=F3wiony [Spoken diary]. Wat = recalled=20 that a certain

communist leader functioned as a =91tsadik=92 to=20 his followers. That leader, Adolf Warski, was

one of the founders of the Polish Communist Party, was = later a=20 member of the Polish

parliament, was murdered in Russia during the Stalinist = terror,=20 and happened to be my greatgrandfather.

Comments on the Ten Theses

1. Marxism, = radical=20 leftist ideologies, and =91real socialism=92 constitute not only a = fragment of

world history, and of Polish or Hungarian history, but = also a=20 chapter in Jewish history.

Communism constitutes a relatively important part of = recent Polish=20 or Hungarian history,

as well as of Russian or, say, Chinese history; clearly, = it will=20 always remain a chapter of

European history, and indeed in the history of our = civilization. I=20 propose to also consider

communism as a chapter of Jewish history.

By communism I mean, first, Marxism and a broader field = of=20 left-wing radicalism, and

second, =91real socialism=92, the countries governed by = communist=20 parties. It is this second

element, their participation in the communist rule, and = the=20 resulting responsibility for its

activities, that makes the issue of the role of Jewish = communists=20 in the framework of Jewish

history highly emotional. If the phenomenon of Jewish = communists=20 is seen as part of a

comprehensive Jewish history, it follows that in our = century, in=20 Eastern Europe, Jews were not

1 A. W. = M. Gerrits,=20 =91Anti-Semitism and Anti-Communism. The Myth of =93Jewish Communism=94 = in Eastern

Europe=92, Dialogue and Universalism 11=9612 (1995), pp. 27=9651, p. 32.

2 J. = Schatz,=20 The Generation. = The Rise=20 and Fall of the Jewish Communists of Poland (University of California

Press, 1991).

3 In an = article=20 =91Żydzi a komunizm=92 [Jews and Communism] published in the = underground=20 periodical Krytyka=20 15

(1983), pp. 178=96206, under my then pen-name of Abel = Kainer. It was=20 published in English in From the Polish

Underground, Selection from Krytyka 1978=961993, ed. M. Bernhard and H. Szlajfer (Pennsylvania State

University Press, 1996), pp. 353=9694.

4 Of = course, the topic=20 has been approached by a number of scholars, such as Jacob Talmon and = Erich=20 Fromm,

and by writers such as Isaac Bashevis Singer and Israel = Singer, as=20 well as by Polish contemporary writers Julian

Stryjkowski and Henryk Grynberg. This is, however, not = enough. The=20 theses and many of the comments

presented below were published, sometimes in an expanded = form, in=20 my book Żydzi, judaizm, Polska = [Jews,

Judaism, Poland] (Warsaw, 1997). Additional = considerations are=20 contained in =91Żydzi a komunizm=92, Krytyka.

only among the oppressed, but also among the = oppressors! Because we Jews were the victims

of the most horrible persecutions, the very idea that = some of us=20 were among the victimizers

sounds dramatic and is hard to accept. Yet it is clearly = a=20 fact.

Of course, this thesis about Jews being also among the = oppressors=20 can be accepted

only if we admit that communists did oppress and = persecute. I=20 guess that very few people

deny this. It is, however, true that the early = communists, the=20 revolutionaries from the period of

illegal activities, were motivated by a desire to bring = and end to=20 social injustice. They wanted

to create a just society and eventually produced a = system of=20 organized terror.

Let me mention just some examples showing that = communism, and,=20 more generally,

left-wing radicalism, was relatively widespread among = Jews,=20 especially in Eastern Europe. I

refer to facts not myths. Most Jews who left the closed=20 traditional communities tended to

support political radicalism. If they did not choose = Zionism, they=20 supported the revolutionary

left. Sometimes both. Secular Yiddish culture was = predominantly=20 leftist. What is even more

relevant, Jews were important in communist movements. = They were=20 prominent among

revolutionary leaders, both before and after the seizure = of power=20 by the communists.

Occasionally, other leaders praised Jews for this, as = was the case=20 with Engels and Lenin, for

example.

Reproaching Jews for this has been common among = conservatives. To=20 give less wellknown

examples: in the 1920s, some Swedish experts on Russia = had no=20 doubt about the role

of Jews. Alfred Jensen (neither pro-Jewish, nor = anti-Semitic, I=20 have been told) wrote in 1921

that =93approximately 75 per cent of the leading = Bolsheviks are of=20 Jewish origin=94.5 = The Russian

Tsar Nicholas II had said that =93nine-tenths of the = troublemakers=20 are Jews=94.6 = I have no idea

how close to or far from the truth this is. Anti-Semitic = usage of=20 such statements has made it

very difficult to know whether they refer to facts.

Of course, there is a great difference between those who = became=20 revolutionaries in

order to fight injustice and those who supported = communist=20 oppression, another form of

injustice. Usually, however, idealist radicals became=20 functionaries of the system when the

opportunity arose, or supporters of the new regime if = they lived=20 elsewhere. For instance,

Jewish activists in Eastern Europe and in Israeli = kibbutzim were=20 eagerly pro-Soviet in the

period of terror in the later years of Stalin=92s = life.

In Poland, right after the Second World War, most Jewish = organizations were procommunist;

they saw communists as a force that could bring security = and=20 stabilization. To be

a Jew was sometimes an advantage for those ready to make = careers=20 in the emerging

communist system. (Though it could also be a burden. I = know=20 examples of returning Jews

who were offered career opportunities, and examples of = those who=20 were denied them=97in

both cases Jewishness seemed essential.) I wish to avoid = a=20 misunderstanding: I am not saying

that Jewishness was ever sufficient for a career; not = Jews, but=20 loyal persons were needed,

preferably those with no family ties. Jews were often = perfect=20 candidates since they were

isolated, with no families, not connected to the prewar = power=20 elite, dreaming about normal

lives and about protection by the state authorities.

Some Jews in postwar Poland tried to punish those guilty = of the=20 murder of their

families. This is mentioned in some literary renderings = by Jewish=20 survivors, as for example in

a remarkable book, recently published, by a = Polish=96Jewish survivor=20 Wilhelm Dichter.7 = His

mother asked a Soviet Jewish officer in Lvov to send to = Siberia a=20 Polish neighbor who had

reported to Germans and thereby sent her family members = to death.=20 The most dramatic

example is provided by the recently revealed story of = Solomon=20 Morel, sadistic head of a

5 K. = Gerner, =91Degrees=20 of Anti-Semitism: the Swedish Example=92, in Jews and Christians, Who is = Your=20 Neighbour

after the Holocaust?, ed. M. Bron Jr. (Acta Sueco-Polonica, No. 2) (Uppsala,=20 1997).

6 Quoted = after J.=20 Schatz, The = Riddle of=20 Jewish Radicalism (manuscript),=20 p. l .

7 W. = Dichter,=20 Koń Pana Boga [God=92s horse] (Cracow: Znak,=20 1996).

concentration camp for Germans in Poland, immediately = after the=20 Second World War.8

I am aware that anti-Semites have abused those facts, = distorted=20 them, and built on their basis a

mythical picture of Jewish = conspiracy.

2. Anti-Semites have grossly exaggerated the Jewish = involvement in=20 communism, distorted the

facts, and interpreted them according to conspiracy = theories. Jews=20 were also victims of

communism.

The view that the phenomenon of Jewish communists must = be seen as=20 part of the

comprehensive history of Jews is not accepted by average = Jews and=20 by many authors. They

point to the fact that the existence of Jewish = communists was a=20 pretext for anti-Semites, who

used it in their conspiracy theories. It is true that = the myth of=20 =91Jewish communism=92

(żydokomuna or =91jewcommies=92) has been one of the most = sinister ideas=20 that ever shaped

European politics; it was used to justify aggressive and = violent=20 anti-Semitism, and eventually

led to mass murder by Nazi Germany. And it is still = used, in=20 Poland and elsewhere, by

demagogue politicians.

It is imperative, then, to remember all the facts that = contradict=20 the image of =91Jewish

communism=92. Let me mention just a few. Of course, most = Jews were=20 never communist or procommunist,

and most communists were never Jewish. Various = minorities were=20 overrepresented

among communists. This was, by the way, a paradox = because=20 communists

believed that they represented the working masses, the = national=20 majority. Most Jews did not

support communism. Even in postwar Poland when the = choice for Jews=20 was limited (this is

also true of Hungary) the majority of Jews were not = pro-communist=20 and most of them left

Poland.

Jews were also victims of communism. Some facts, like = the doctors=92=20 plot, are well

known. But the anti-Jewish practice of communism was = much more=20 fundamental. Despite the

opportunities for individual careers, all Jews who = wanted to=20 continue specifically Jewish

activities=97be they religious, political, or = Zionist=97were seen as=20 enemies by communists,

including the Jewish communists. Traditional Jewish = communal life=20 was destroyed by the

victorious communists. Moreover, communism created its = own version=20 of the myth of =91Jewish

(anti-)communism=92: the world Trotskyite/Zionist = conspiracy. As a=20 matter of fact, the picture

of =91rootless cosmopolitans=92 was used by communists = and=20 anti-communists alike.

The persecutions of Jews took place not only when large = campaigns=20 against =91Zionists=92

were mounted, but also when the Jewish communists were = most=20 influential, as for example in

the late 1940s in Poland, when many Jews were sent to = prison for=20 =91speculation=92, that is, doing

business. And those who really tried to be active as = Zionists=20 could become =91prisoners of Zion=92

in each communist country.

Anti-Semitism has always existed on the left. Some=20 revolutionaries, not excluding the

young Marx, were ready to treat capitalism as an = essentially=20 Jewish phenomenon. In fact, the

specter of =91Jewish communism=92 haunted the communist = parties from=20 the very beginning. The

over-representation of Jews caused =93an embarrassment = and a=20 political liability=94 to communist

parties. This is a largely neglected story.9 To give a=20 specific example: in 1948, a short time

before his (temporary) removal from the chairmanship of = the=20 Communist Party, Wladysław

Gomulka wrote a letter to Stalin in which he stated that = he saw=20 =93the necessity not only of

stopping the increase in the percentage of the Jewish = element in=20 the state and party apparatus,

8 The = story was=20 described by J. Sack in An=20 Eye for an Eye (New = York: Basic=20 Books, 1993).

9 A. W. = M. Gerrits,=20 =91Anti-Semitism and Anti-Communism=92, pp. 42=9643.

but also of gradually reducing this = percentage.=9410

Sooner or later, there were anti-Semitic purges in most = communist=20 parties in the hope

of achieving their =93national purification=94. That = revealed a deeper=20 phenomenon. As Adam

Michnik rightly observed, in Poland the anti-Semitic and = anti-intellectual campaign of 1968

was the culmination of an attempt to legitimize the = regime by=20 appropriating Polish fascist

traditions, together with that nation=92s virulent=20 anti-Semitism.

3. Jewish communists rarely cared about Jewish concerns = and often=20 virtually stopped being

Jewish.

The view that the phenomenon of Jewish communists must = be seen as=20 part of the

comprehensive history of Jews is not accepted by average = Jews for=20 another important reason.

Jewish communists were so unrepresentative, so far = removed from=20 the mainstream of Jewish

life that, say many Jews, their activities do not = deserve to be=20 included in Jewish history.

Communists of Jewish descent were alienated and tried to = be=20 =93plus catholiques que = le

pape=94. They = were generally=20 =93not especially interested in the Jewish issue=94.11 For other,=20 noncommunist

Jews the government was never free of anti-Semitism, = even in the=20 presence of

Jews in power. One emigrant, Bernard Goldstein, = complained that=20 Jews who, like Minc,

Berman, Zambrowski, or Borejsza, occupied top positions = in the=20 communist ruling elite, did

not bother to help the Jewish community. =93They were = hired servants=20 of the dictatorship=94, he

wrote.12 = Among the most significant features of Jewish = communists=20 was their desire to leave

the Jewish world, often to stop being Jewish, so that at = least=20 their children would have no

Jewish sentiments, and no Jewish problems. I, as well as = many of=20 my friends, know this from

our own experience.

What is even more important, communist practice was = invariably=20 directed against

Jewish traditions and communal life, and it may rightly = be called=20 anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitic

expression was forbidden but Jewish life was restricted = as much as=20 other traditions and

eventually even more. It is undeniable that Jewish = communists=20 acted not as Jews but as

communists; they did exactly the same things that all = other=20 communists in similar positions

did, and specifically Jewish concerns could not = influence their=20 decisions. Even traditional

Jews could understand that point. Rabbi Joseph B. = Soloveitchik=20 wrote that Jewish Bolsheviks

=93wanted to convince Stalin that they were first and = foremost=20 communists rather than Jews=94.13

The only exception were the communists active = among Jews. They stressed their

Jewishness but fought against Jewish traditions. The = rare Jewish=20 communists who in postwar

Poland wanted to be active as Jews=20 referred to =93the progressive Jewish nation under the

auspices of Comrade Stalin=94.14 They expressed = Stalinist ideas in=20 Yiddish. But even they

wanted in the long run to finish with Jewish = distinctiveness. They=20 seemed to assume that in

the future ideal world there would be nothing = specifically Jewish.=20 One proof of this is that

they raised dejudaized children. Another was that in = postwar=20 Poland they were =93unhappy

about the government=92s policy of allowing Jewish = emigration in=20 1949=9650=94, and tried =93to

sabotage it by delaying and otherwise obstructing the = issue of=20 documents required for exit

10 The = letter was=20 discovered in Russia, and presented to the public by A. Paczkowski=20 (Gazeta=20 Wyborcza, 18=9619

December, 1993, p. 17.).

11 A. W. = M. Gerrits,=20 =91Anti-Semitism and Anti-Communism=92, p. 46.

12 Quoted = after one of=20 the most important contributions to the study of our topic, K. = Kersten=92s=20 Polacy, = żydzi,

komunizm, Anatomia p=F3łprawd 1939=961968 [Poles, Jews, Communism: An Anatomy of Half-Truths] = (Warsaw:

Niezależna Oficyna Wydawnicza, 1992), p.=20 81.

13 Midstream, = January 1997,=20 p. 40.

14 K. = Kersten,=20 Polacy, = żydzi, komunizm, p.=20 78.

applications=94.15

Communism was, among other things, a form of = assimilation. To=20 some, this =93red

assimilation=94, to use the phrase of Ozjasz Thon, = =93that repulsive=20 red assimilation=97spiritual

desolation among the youth=9416 seemed the most = promising way. It=20 was often efficient=97up to

a point. When they became rejected or just disenchanted = they often=20 =91regressed=92 to Jewishness.

4. Some of those who had abandoned Jewishness later came = back. The=20 number of Jewish

communists, and their role, was so important that other = Jews must=20 not ignore it.

For anti-Semites, the number and visibility of Jewish = communists=20 means that

communism was Jewish and that Jews were in power. This = is=20 nonsense. In fact, it is easy to

show that the presence of Jews was politically = unessential, be it=20 in Poland, Hungary, or in

other countries. I think it is evident that even if = there had been=20 no Jews in these countries after

the war, the political developments in the post-Yalta = world would=20 have been the same. If so, is

the presence of Jews among communists a noteworthy = occurrence? And=20 why should we care

now? From the perspective of the contemporary Westerner = the story=20 of Jewish communists

seems rather exotic, an unimportant dead end of Jewish=20 history.

I disagree with this point of view. It is true that most = of them=20 were strongly un-Jewish,

that is, they tried hard to abandon their Jewishness. = Some authors=20 maintain that no

relationship existed between their origins and their=20 communism.17 After all, they clearly did

not act as=20 Jews. However, many of them = came back to=20 the Jewish world when the communist

world rejected them. Also, they had Jewish family = members. One=20 striking example is Jakub

Berman, number-two in Stalinist Poland, who was very far = from=20 paying heed to Jewish

concerns; at the same time, his brother, Adolf, was a = left-wing=20 Zionist who emigrated to

Israel. Also, many Marxist Jews had a strong Jewish = identity and=20 were =91Jewishly=92 active.

Bundists and left-wing Zionists believed in socialism = and in=20 revolution in a similar fashion to

communists.

Above all, the size of the phenomenon should not be=20 underestimated. Isaac Bashevis

Singer recalled how in the 1920s, in Warsaw, in the = coffee shops=20 attended by Jewish writers

and journalists =93everyone=94 was looking forward to = revolutionary=20 changes, and he alone was

=93living in the past=94. We are not talking about a = handful of=20 individuals. It was a social

phenomenon: radical leftist alternatives were dominant = in some=20 Jewish circles.

Also, it is a fact that Jews holding high official = positions in=20 postwar Poland=97as well

as in Hungary, Rumania, Czechoslovakia and = Lithuania=97were,=20 relatively speaking, very

numerous. Not as numerous, though, as the anti-Semitic = stereotype=20 to the effect that =91they

were all Jews=92 has it. In 1945, the bulletin of the = London-based=20 Polish Telegraphic Agency

stated that =93all official positions in ministries and = state=20 offices were filled by Jews=94.18

Krystyna Kersten reports a private note by Bierut, the = leader of=20 Stalinist Poland, who recorded

that while there were 438 Jews among 25,600 employees of = the state=20 security forces (1.7 per

cent), 67 (13.4 per cent) of the top 500 security = officers were=20 Jewish.19 According to internal

statistics compiled by the Polish Ministry of Interior = (made=20 available by Andrzej Paczkowski)

in the period 1944=961956 almost 30 per cent of top = officers were=20 Jewish.20 In 1953, Ostap

15 J. = Schatz,=20 The=20 Generation, p.=20 252.

16 In the = introduction=20 to the monumental volume Żydzi w Polsce=20 Odrodzonej [Jews in = Reborn=20 Poland] (Warsaw,

1928).

17 This = point has been=20 argued by, among others, my father (Warski=92s grandson): =91Fakty i = mity. O roli=20 żyd=F3w w

okresie stalinowskim=92, in Więż (1997), pp. 109=9622. English translation: =91Facts and Myths: = On the Role of=20 the

Jews during the Stalinist Period=92, in Więż Special Issue: Under One Heaven = (Warsaw, 1998), pp.=20 93=96110.

18 K. = Kersten,=20 Polacy, = żydzi, komunizm, p.=20 79.

19 K. = Kersten,=20 Polacy, = żydzi, komunizm, pp.=20 83=9684.

20 Aparat = bezpieczeństwa=92, in Instytucje Państwa Totalitarnego, research report of the Institute of Political

Dłuski wrote that in the Ministry of Foreign = Affairs there=20 were =938 directors of departments of

which 5 were Jews, [while] for the 12 available posts of = deputy=20 directors only 4 were

nominated, among whom 3 were Jews, and of 28 division = managers 18=20 were Jews.=9421

In Poland, żydzi w=20 UB, that is =93Jews in the = security=20 forces=94 has become a standard

image. This is an expression of anti-Semitic attitudes. = There is=20 no reason to believe that these

posts were occupied by Jews because they were Jewish. But even if we reject the=20 stereotype

and the generalization, it is wrong to ignore the = above-mentioned=20 figures as irrelevant.

Communism was=97and continues to be=97perceived as = =91the rule of Jews=92,=20 even by persons

who were far from being anti-Semites. In 1996, the = posthumous=20 diaries of two important

personalities=97the prominent writer, Maria = Dąbrowska and another=20 well-known writer and

journalist, Stefan Kisielewski=97were published in = Poland.=20 Anti-communist Kisielewski wrote

that =93Jews have always loved communism=94, but also = that =93Poland=20 without Jews is the saddest

possible Poland=94.22=20 Both writers mentioned =93the = ruling Jews=94 as=20 an evident fact of Stalinist

Poland.

This impression was probably partly derived from the = fact that=20 during the Second

World War Jews were seen as victims, only victims, and = nothing but=20 victims. However,

suddenly they were important, the =93resurrected = Judas=94.23 The image=20 of Jews participating in

power and in state administration incomparably more than = had been=20 the case in prewar

Poland, was so strange to Poles that it was considered = as=20 conspicuous.24 = Despite all these

reservations, the fact remains that communist Jews were = numerous=20 and influential. I believe

that this fact should be incorporated into their = thinking about=20 Jewish history by scholars and

by =91average=92 Jews alike. And to me the sheer number = of communist=20 Jews is not the only and

not even the most important aspect of the=20 problem.

5. The deepest problem is posed by the quasi-religious = character=20 of the communist

involvement of some Jews.

I can certainly understand Jews being pro-communist in = certain=20 periods. In the polarized

Poland of 1946 they unfortunately had little choice in = the=20 selection of allies. Communists

could be seen as the only force that could efficiently = defend Jews=20 against anti-Semitism. This

resulted in a vicious circle: the more Jews were afraid, = the more=20 they relied on the communist

authorities=97and at the beginning of the postwar period = on the Red=20 Army itself25=97and the

more they relied on them, the more they were threatened = and the=20 more afraid they became. It

was hard to step out of the circle. What then is the = problem (what=20 I see as a Jewish problem)?

The character of the alliance of Jews with communist = rulers was=20 not determined. The

cooperation of Jewish leaders with victorious communists = was=20 rather natural.26 = What they

could have avoided was the quasi-religious zeal with = which so many=20 of them assumed

communist positions. For some this had begun much = earlier. The=20 revolution was perceived by

some Jews in quasi-messianic terms. The fanaticism of = the early=20 revolutionaries was not

weaker than in the most extreme religious sects. The = party became=20 their family, Stalin their

Messiah. To understand the phenomenon of communism, we = must=20 perceive it also as a quasireligious

movement. Jewish leftist intellectuals produced = commentaries on=20 Marx, treating his

work much as =91holy=92 scripture. According to = testimonies gathered=20 by Schatz, in prewar

Studies (PAN, 1994), p. 61.

21 Quoted = after a=20 manuscript by D. Stola, The=20 Anti-Zionist Campaign in Poland 1967=961968, endnote = 10, p.=20 79.

22 S. = Kisielewski,=20 Dzienniki = 1968=961980 (Warsaw: Iskry, 1996).

23 A. = Smolar, =91Tabu i=20 niewinność=92 [Taboo and Innocence], = Aneks 41/42 (1986), pp. 89=96133, p. = 110.

24 This = aspect has been=20 stressed by J. T. Gross in Upiorna dekada [The=20 Horrible Decade] (Cracow: Universitas,

1998).

25 This = was described=20 by H. Grynberg in the novel Zwycięstwo [Victory].

26 See = the chapter=20 about the cooperation of Jews with state security in J. T. Gross=92s=20 Upiorna=20 dekada.

prisons they formed communist =91yeshivahs=92, adapting Talmudic dialectic = pilpul methods to

the study of their literature.27 After the Second World = War the=20 prewar communists entered the

state of =91holy madness=92. Even those who survived in = Russia were=20 not shaken in their faith.

Messianic anticipation was transformed into enthusiasm. = Politics=20 was perceived =93in truly

mystical terms . . . They saw themselves as active in . = . . the=20 beginning of a new era.=9428

Ex-communists often presented their experience using the = metaphor=20 of the =93God who

failed=94. Sergey Bulgakov described revolutionaries as = adherents of=20 a =93religion founded on

atheism=94.29=20 Nikolai Berdyaev was among the = first to show=20 that secularized Messianism was

the key to understanding modern revolutionaries. = Modern=97and=20 obviously not only Jewish.

It must be stressed that fanaticism was characteristic = of all=20 =91believing communists=92 (as

distinct from the pragmatic, career-oriented communists = in the=20 period of communist rule), and

not just of Jewish communists. Jewish communists = expressed their=20 quasi-religious zeal in a

Jewish style. The Messianic-like intensity, and the = uncritical=20 belief that communists would

end both anti-Semitism and discrimination of all kinds, = made them=20 ready to use any means to

make possible the building of the new communist order. = That is why=20 even well-meaning and

humane people could participate in the system of terror. = I see a=20 deep problem here, and a

matter of concern for Jews, because it shows the = dead-end of the=20 Jewish religious fervor and

Messianic yearnings when directed to false gods.

One can ask, however: how important is the Jewishness of = those=20 leftists and

communists? If this is just a matter of style, is it = perhaps=20 irrelevant?

6. There is no distinctive Jewish radicalism. There is = no =91Jewish=20 communism=92. Jews became

communists because of general = mechanisms.

Is the Jewishness of Jewish communists relevant? My = answer is that=20 it may be irrelevant,

but we have no right to assume that this is indeed the = case. It=20 needs to be proven. Otherwise,

we would be doing just what anti-Semites do when they = assume that=20 communism has a Jewish

nature, only in reverse. What must be recognized is the = existence=20 of a genuine problem here.

Have some elements of Jewish tradition or the Jewish = condition=20 influenced the

ideology and practice of communism? A full answer can be = given=20 only as a result of the

pursuit of a comprehensive research program.

Anti-Semites in Europe have often said that Jews created = communism=20 and that

communism is Jewish. Already in 1879 a report written by = the=20 Prussian police contained the

conclusion that =93Jewry is by nature a revolutionary=20 movement=94.30 = Also, Kisielewski, who was

never an anti-Semite, wrote that Jews =93created = communism=94. He=20 added that they =93should be

punished for this=94, but the ruling communists = =93punished them for=20 alleged treason against

communism=94. Is there a sense in which communism can be = reasonably=20 seen as a Jewish

creation? Clearly, Jews as a group did not create = communism, even=20 if Jews were prominent

among its founders. Also, organized Jewish communities = were not=20 lovers of communism,

even if some individual Jews were.

A comparison will be instructive. Christianity is really = a Jewish=20 creation, or rather it

was at the beginning. All its founders were Jewish. It = started as=20 a Jewish sect. Communism in

none of its forms has ever been a Jewish sect. In = addition,=20 Christianity depends on its

Jewish=97or Hebrew=97roots, and must always ponder their = significance.=20 Nothing like this has

ever been the case with socialism, with its many = currents. If we=20 look at the sources of

27 J. = Schatz,=20 The=20 Generation, p.=20 138.

28 J. = Schatz,=20 The Generation, = p. = 249.

29 Quoted = after I.=20 Shafarevich, Le = ph=E9nomene=20 socialiste (Paris, = 1977), p.=20 267.

30 J. = Schatz,=20 The Riddle of = Jewish=20 Radicalism, p. = 1.

communism we see a highly complex picture. We can = discern its=20 forerunners as far back as

the states of ancient Egypt or China, and in the = political=20 philosophy of Plato. The other

sources were listed by Erich Fromm: =93Marxist and other = forms of=20 socialism are the heirs of

prophetic Messianism, Christian Chiliastic sectarianism, = thirteenth-century Thomism,

Renaissance Utopianism, and eighteenth-century=20 Enlightenment.=9431 = It makes no sense to call

communism a Jewish creation even in the sense in which=20 Christianity is Jewish.

Nevertheless, it is possible to ask whether there are = features of=20 communism that make

it =91Jewish=92 in some sense. How deep were the = similarities between=20 Judaism and communism,

and, more generally, between Judaism and ideologies = based on=20 Marxism? Some authors stress

the importance of Jewish cultural heritage, especially = Messianism,=20 prophetic traditions, the

stress on social justice, the imperative to set the = world right.=20 Melvin Lasky believes that a line

can be drawn =93from the anger of the Biblical prophets = to the=20 modern tumults associated with

1917=94.32

As already mentioned, in order to understand the = phenomenon of=20 communism we

must look at it as a quasi-religious movement. Abraham = Kaplan=20 noticed that the communist

party became =93in effect, a priesthood=94.33 One can be=20 even more specific. According to

Kaplan,

the communist myth of human history begins with the Eden = of what=20 they call primitive communism;

man is then cursed with class differences and the class = struggle,=20 moves through the trials of a feudal and

bourgeois period, enters the purgatory of socialism, and = is=20 redeemed at last in the heaven of

communism. Production takes the place of Providence, = ownership is=20 sin, revolution is redemption.34

What is apparent in this elegant parallel is not so much = similarity with Judaism, but rather

structural affinity to Christianity! The result of the = analysis is=20 completely different from the

intentions of those who maintain that the nature of = communism is=20 Jewish. There is no

objective reason to stress its Jewish elements rather = than its=20 Christian ones. This reminds me

of an elderly Jew from the Warsaw synagogue who says he = is a=20 communist in the sense that

Jesus was a communist!

Those who practice the Jewish religious tradition rarely = become=20 radicals or

revolutionaries. The Jewish ideal of tsedek is=20 inconsistent with the revolutionary ethos. The

cultural heritage is not sufficient by itself to explain = the=20 choices of Jewish communists: while

some elements of tradition support leftist and radical = approaches,=20 others favor conservatism.

The tradition is more than comprehensive enough. The = problem=20 remains why one element is

selected and not another.

According to some, there exists a Jewish tendency to = extremism or=20 radical solutions.

Perhaps so. This is, however, not sufficiently specific. = Similar=20 characteristics are attributed,

for instance, to the Russians (Berdyaev: =93Communism = suits the=20 Russian soul.=94) and to the

French (Proudhon: Jacobinism is =93a kind of moral = pestilence=20 particular to the French

temperament.=94).35

My opinion is that, although there are similarities = between the=20 Judaic tradition and

communist thinking, they are not very deep. The = connection between=20 Jews and leftist ideas

and practice is not of an absolute character but limited = to=20 specific times and places. The

communist fanaticism of Jews often contained Jewish = ingredients=20 but there is no specifically

Jewish radicalism. I completely agree with Jaff = Schatz=92 solution=20 to the =93riddle of radical

31 Fromm, = Marx=92s = Concept of=20 Man, cited in M. = Lasky,=20 Utopia and = Revolution=20 (London, 1977), p.=20 66.

32 M. = Lasky,=20 Utopia and=20 Revolution, p.=20 67.

33 A. = Kaplan,=20 The New World = of Philosophy=20 (New York: Vintage, = 1961), p.=20 188.

34 A. = Kaplan,=20 The New World = of=20 Philosophy, p.=20 173.

35 M. = Lasky,=20 Utopia and=20 Revolution, p.=20 78.

Jews=94: there is no =93Jewish radicalism=94, there are = only radical=20 Jews.36 Individuals become

radical as a result of a process governed by general = mechanisms=20 and functioning in their

specific situations. For Jews it was a Jewish situation = and Jewish=20 heritage played a role.

Communism is not a Jewish product. Or rather, it is = certainly no=20 more Jewish in origin

than many other ideas of Western civilization, including = Christianity. At the same time, it is

true that Jews were prominent among European and = American (but not=20 Asian) communists.

The correct question is not =93Why did they create = communism?=94 or=20 =93Why is communism

Jewish?=94, but rather =93Why was communism so = attractive to=20 Jews?=94

7. It was not Judaism or Jewish traditions but the = social=20 situation that led Jews to communist

involvement.

There is no distinctive Jewish radicalism. There = existed, however,=20 processes leading Jews

to leftist radicalism. They had little to do with Jewish = traditions, but very much to do with the

situation of the Jews. The Biblical tradition of social = justice=20 only sometimes led to

revolutionary involvement. It all depended on the social = situation=20 of the Jews involved.

The mechanisms responsible for communist involvement = were=20 universal. For example,

feelings of hopelessness always lead to radical = attitudes. In the=20 case of Jews, the lack of hope

for satisfactory careers in a society permeated by = anti-Semitism=20 resulted in a belief in the

necessity of a revolutionary change in the social order. = Hopelessness was widespread in

prewar Europe and led to political radicalism. For Jews, = only=20 left-wing radicalism was

available, as right-wing radicals were deeply = anti-Semitic. Only=20 Zionism provided for Jews a

way of being both radical and right-wing.

In Poland before the Second World War there were very = few career=20 prospects for

bright Jewish young people. They were not accepted. The = =91reds=92=20 were an exception. This led

to a paradox: while communism was to some Jews, and = other=20 minorities, a way of

assimilating, they remained mostly among people similar = to=20 themselves, thereby perpetuating

their minority status.

By hopelessness I do not mean poverty. Poor people never = supported=20 communists only

because they were poor. Many remained conservative. On = the other=20 hand, it is extremely

significant that some children from well-to-do families = became=20 Marxists or even professional

revolutionaries. They did not have to escape poverty, = rather they=20 believed in a mission to help

others escape poverty. Jews figured prominently among = these=20 idealists.

Another general mechanism was the attraction of radical = views for=20 marginalized

intellectuals. = They were=20 important in cultural life, and in radical politics. According to = Isaac

Deutcher, the revolutionary =93non-Jewish Jews=94 = transcended the=20 particularistic and strove for

the universal. Before the two world wars, the alienation = of the=20 assimilated Jewish

intelligentsia was often painful. They were neither part = of the=20 traditional Jewish community

nor accepted by Gentile society. Marginality led to = self-hatred,=20 an internalization of anti-

Semitism. The double marginality, ethnic and religious, = produced=20 revolutionaries who sought

=93to have the non-Jews become like them, alienated from = traditional=20 religious and national

values. Only then would these revolutionaries cease to = feel=20 alienated.=9437

There is a simple proof that it was the situation rather = than=20 tradition that led Jews to

communism. In contemporary Israel, although not in the = first=20 decades of the state, the

Communist Party has been predominantly Arab. Again, this = was=20 caused by their social

situation and not by any fundamentally Islamic or Arab=20 characteristics of communism.

36 In the = book and=20 article already mentioned.

37 D. = Prager and J.=20 Telushkin, Why = the Jews?=20 The Reasons for Anti-Semitism (New York: Simon and Schuster,

1983), p. 60.

While the mechanisms that caused Jews to participate in = communism=20 were general, the

whole phenomenon does constitute part of modern Jewish = history.=20 Every radical,

revolutionary, or fanatic has his or her own reasons for = this=20 attitude. They are partly personal

and partly reflect one=92s condition or status resulting = from=20 belonging to one group or another.

For Jews, those reasons reflected the Jewish condition. = In=20 this sense they were Jewish. These

Jews had Jewish reasons, even if shallowly Jewish, and = brought a=20 Jewish color to the leftist

revolutionary movements.

8. Participation in evil could begin with noble and = selfless=20 intentions.

One could still ask: why should we remember the = Jewishness of the=20 communists,

especially of those who did not want to be part of the = Jewish=20 people, of Jewish history? My

answer is that what Jews did is usually considered as = part of=20 Jewish history, even if they=20 did

not act as Jews. Lists of=20 outstanding Jewish sportsmen are compiled for Jewish

encyclopedias: why not make one of the top Jewish = communists?=20 Jewish communists did not

represent Jewish interests (and Jewish Olympic medal = winners did=20 not represent Jews), but

they were perceived as Jews by others, Jews and non-Jews = alike.

Even if the above is accepted, one could still say that = these=20 facts belong to history and

there is no reason to remember them. I disagree. My = answer is=20 that, first, the story poses a

most important moral=20 problem. This is my personal = motive for=20 thinking about the subject. I

am not a historian but I am a committed Jew and I have = ancestors=20 who were communist

leaders.

Leftist radicalism contained an inherent evil. Jewish = communists=20 took part in a system

of terror. I do not say that they started out with = sinister=20 intentions. The original intentions

were often pure and sometimes very noble indeed. I, for = one, have=20 ancestors who were

communists, and I know that they did not want to do = evil. In fact,=20 this is precisely the reason

why the lesson offered by their story is significant. It = can be=20 instructive to all. Their history

can teach us something about the traps that not only = Jews can=20 encounter. The danger is

universal. We have seen many idealists-turned-terrorists = or=20 fighters-against-oppressionturned-

oppressors. Any case study can help us understand the = mechanism of=20 that change. And

the story of Jewish communists provides excellent = material for=20 study.

If the communists had not seized power, we would have = seen them=20 mostly as idealists

or fanatics, but essentially not as harmful ones. The = innocence of=20 the early revolutionaries is

best illustrated by a story whose events took place in = Kaluszyn,=20 in the Russian part of Poland,

in 1905. Three young revolutionaries came to the = rabbinical court=20 of the town. One shot into

the cupboard and demanded =93the money that the = bourgeoisie entrusts=20 when they come to

settle disputes=94. They were shown the little money = entrusted by=20 poor orphans, brides, and

widows as their inheritance or dowries. Wealthy people = left=20 promissory notes which were of

no use to the intruders. Then the youth said: =93Listen, = Rebe, we=20 won=92t take money from poor

orphans and widows, although we=92re desperately in need = of money.=94=20 They also said that they

would send one of their men the next day to fix the hole = made by=20 the revolver. Shortly

afterwards, they left, shouting =93Long live the = revolution!=94 And=20 then the Rebe said to his

colleagues: =93You see? A Jewish soul cannot be = fathomed. Even their=20 path includes pity

toward widows and orphans, and on account of that God = will forgive=20 them.=9438

This romantic view of revolutionaries is still shared by = some of=20 my American and

Western friends who remember the idealistic leftists who = cared=20 about justice. As the

communists took power and created a system of terror and = oppression, even those

38 S. = Kalushin. Quoted=20 after J. Kugelmass and J. Boyarin, From a Ruined Garden (New=20 York: Schocken, 1983),

pp. 118=9619.

communists who were themselves not part of the power = elite=97like=20 Western communists or

those who had died before the communist takeover=97have = been=20 included in the universe of

evil done by communists in power.

This is clearly a challenge to all communists, and not = only Jewish=20 ones. To me,

however, the drama of the Jewish revolutionaries is = closer and=20 more relevant. I can

sympathize with their dilemmas. I can understand the = feeling that=20 only a radical

reconstruction can mend the world that produced Hitler = and the=20 Shoah. At the same time, I am

horrified by the consequences of their choices and I = feel ashamed.=20 Moreover, I believe that all

Jews should understand the drama and share the feeling = of=20 uneasiness.

9. Moral responsibility can be indirect. Reemerging = Jewish=20 communities in Eastern Europe

should face the legacy of Jewish participation in = communism.=20 However, accepting a Jewish

share of moral responsibility does not make non-Jews = less=20 responsible.

I am not responsible for the bad things done by Jewish = communists,=20 even if some of them

happened to be my ancestors. The same is true of an = overwhelming=20 majority of Jews=97

American or Sephardic Jews certainly cannot be held = responsible,=20 and most of them have had

no personal connection with Jewish communists.

Guilt can only be individual. I can be ashamed = nevertheless. Even=20 those Jews who

were actively opposed to communism can feel shame. From = a Jewish=20 religious point of view,

it is not irrelevant what other, even non-religious and=20 anti-religious, Jews do. The whole

house of Israel, including its rebellious members, is = the partner=20 of the Covenant. If one sees

Jews according to a Talmudic principle, assuming all of = us to be=20 =93responsible for one another=94

(Kol = Israel arevim=20 ze ba-ze), then it is hard to = deny that=20 communist ideology and even more

communist practice have created a problem for all Jews. = Moral=20 responsibility can be indirect.

As in a family, if one family member does something = wrong the=20 others feel bad. The stronger

the identification, the stronger the feeling. Even from = a=20 completely secular perspective the fact

that so many Jews lost their minds in their belief in = communism=20 can be disquieting.

There also exists a logical argument. If one can feel = pride=20 because of the

accomplishment of a particular Jew, even a = =91non-Jewish=92 Jew who=20 did not act as a Jew, then

by the same token one can feel ashamed because of crimes = committed=20 by Jews. Anyone who

has ever taken pride in, for example, Freud=92s = accomplishments,=20 should be ready to feel

ashamed because of Kaganowicz in Russia or Berman in = Poland.=20 Either both feelings or

neither of them.

Jewish communists have left a disturbing legacy that = needs to be=20 confronted by the reemerging

Jewish communities in East Central Europe. This is = not to say=20 that Jews are guilty

and non-Jews are not. That is the anti-Semitic opinion = and I shall=20 have nothing to do with it.

Accepting a Jewish share of moral responsibility does = not make=20 non-Jews less responsible or

less morally involved. The problem of communist crimes = remains a=20 challenge for the left

(obviously, I do not propose to ignore the crimes = committed by the=20 right) and for many groups

and nations.

It sh ould be evident that I am not trying to free = anyone from=20 blame, but my theses

on Jews and communism have made some people think that I = am=20 talking about Jewish moral

responsibility in order to absolve Christians, Poles, = and everyone=20 else. This is not the case.

Communism was the trouble, not the = Jews.

Conclusion

10. = Objective research=20 is needed to clarify the extent and nature of Jewish participation = in

communism. The tragic consequences of the anti-Semitic = myth of=20 =91Jewish communism=92 should

impose no taboo.

I have argued that Jewish communists, taken together, = formed a=20 category that belongs to

the history of the Jewish people (Theses 1 through 4). = Jaff Schatz=20 compares the place of

Jewish communists within the general history of Jews = with that of=20 the followers of Sabbatai

Zvi.39 = No more but no less!

There is no simple formula that explains the problem of = the=20 relations between Jews

and communism, or answers the question =93How Jewish = were Jewish=20 communists?=94 Also,

there is no simple answer to the problem of the affinity = between=20 Jewishness and communism.

One must apply a variety of explanations. First, one has = to refer=20 to the cultural and religious

background in order to explain the Jewish flavor of = communist=20 activities. Second, one must

take into account the social situation of Jews in order = to=20 understand how the general

psychological mechanism leading to radicalism functioned = in the=20 case of Jews (Theses 5

through 7).

Only anti-Semitic myths provide simple solutions. They = usually=20 express a vision of a

=91Jewish world conspiracy=92. According to a notorious = book on the=20 =91Jewish problem=92 which ran

to dozens of editions in Nazi Germany, Marxism = represents the=20 nature of Jews. The author

explicitly referred to the tradition of theological, or = rather=20 demonological, anti-Semitism. He

wrote that =93the Jew is the devil = incarnate=94.40 This,=20 incidentally, shows that theology is as

important in the analysis of anti-Semitism as it is in = the=20 analysis of the processes leading to

communism.

Anti-Semitic nonsense should not stop research on the=20 relationships between Jews and

communism. We should not deny the existence of any = relationship,=20 although it is true that

Jewish communists did the same as other communists. = There are=20 people who denounce as

racist any attempt to find out the number of Jews among = communists=20 and in communist

institutions. They even resent any mention that someone = was Jewish=20 (by origin). I believe that

they impose a virtual taboo because they have not come = to terms=20 either with their own Jewish

ancestry or with the collective Jewish moral = responsibility for=20 the Jewish involvement in

communism. If Jewishness is really irrelevant in that = story why=20 should it be ignored? Lev

Trotsky used to say: =93I am not a Jew, I am an = internationalist=94,=20 but why should we follow his

approach?

There was no Jewish communism, but there were Jewish = communists.=20 Discussing

them and their role does not have to lead to putting all = the blame=20 for communist crimes on

Jews.

I have presented (Theses 8 and 9) the moral problem = posed by the=20 extent and the

nature of Jewish participation in the communist = enterprise. That=20 activity was not done in the

name of the Jews, but they were Jews, nevertheless. A = disturbing=20 legacy has been left for all

Jews, and in particular for the Jews of East Central = Europe and=20 their reemerging Jewish

communities. Discussion of this must not be left to=20 anti-Semites.

Sensitivity and good will is needed to understand the = story of=20 Jewish communists. It is

a closed chapter, so it can be fully described. And this = can be=20 instructive to all. As the famous

anonymous saying goes: =93Jews are just like anybody = else, only more=20 so . . .=94

39 J. = Schatz,=20 The=20 Generation, p. = 2

40 Th. = Fritsch,=20 Handbuch der=20 Judenfrage, p. 236; = quoted after=20 A. W. M. Gerrits, =91Anti-Semitism and Anti-

Communism=92, p. 35.

9:2	There was a tabernacle prepared	And the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally = "tabernacled"]=20 with us... (John 1:14).
The lampstand	"I am the light of the world..." (John 8:12).
The table and the sacred bread	"I am the bread of life..." (John 6:35).
9:3	The second veil	Represented the body of Jesus.
A golden altar of incense	Represented prayers of = intercession.

High = Priest	Jesus Christ
A high priest of the old Aaronic priesthood	The High Priest of the good things to come
Entered the Tabernacle made with hands	Entered the greater and more perfect tabernacle
Entered with blood of goats and calves	Entered with His own blood
Every year he had to repeat the same sacrifice	He entered the holy place once for = all

That which is = Weak	That which is Stronger
If the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer=20 sprinkling...	How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal = spirit=20 offered Himself...
Sanctifies for the cleansing of the flesh.	Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living=20 God.

Shofar FTP Archive File: people/s/snow/2007/snow.200712

The forgotten holocaust

Holocaust Jew accused of war crimes

Holocaust Restitution in Poland

H.R.2601

Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007 = (Engrossed=20 as Agreed to or Passed by House)

Majdanek Victims Enumerated