Bund's file / תיק – בונד

📜The Bund and the History of the Labor Movement

These sources constitute a documentary and literary collection dealing with the history of the Bund movement and the revolutionary activity of Jewish workers in Eastern Europe. The materials include personal memoirs of activists, such as the book by L. Brevke, describing the daily life, the political struggle, and the ideological development in cities such as Dvinsk in the early twentieth century. In addition, the sources present biographical reviews and photographs of key figures in the leadership of the movement, highlighting their contribution to workers’ organizations and to social changes in Russia and the Soviet Union. Most of the texts were written in the Yiddish language and were published over different periods, from the 1930s to the 1950s, as part of an effort to preserve the historical heritage of the Jewish proletariat. Through a combination of personal narratives and official documents, the sources shed light on the revolutionary Jewish identity and on the shared fate of the movement’s activists before and during the Holocaust.

The documents provide an in-depth glimpse into the life of the Jewish revolutionary community in Latvia, particularly in the city of Dvinsk (Daugavpils), focusing on the activities of the Bund movement and its central figures. Below is an expansion on the key places, individuals, and events emerging from the sources:

Key Places

• Daugavpils (Dvinsk): The city appears as a vibrant center of Jewish workers’ activity (O3-2f, O3-4f). It was home to many Bund activists and included Jewish educational, cultural, and sports institutions alongside extensive underground activity (O3-4f).
• Secret laboratories in Dvinsk: During periods of revolutionary unrest, laboratories operated in the city for the production of explosives and bombs for the “Selbstschutz” (self-defense) of Jewish workers (O3-2f).

Prominent Individuals

• L. Leibtschke (Leibtschka): A Jewish worker and Bund activist who documented his experiences in the memoir “Over the Years” (O3-3f). Leibtschke was actively involved in organizing self-defense and in the production of bombs in Dvinsk (O3-2f). His memoirs describe the transition from a life of poverty and hardship to spiritual and political growth within the labor movement (O3-3f).
• Peretz Meiksin: (1882–1941) A watchmaker by profession who became one of the prominent leaders of the Bund in Dvinsk (O3-4f). He served as a member of the city council and of the Jewish community, was arrested by the fascist regime in Latvia in 1934, and he and his family ultimately perished in the Holocaust (O3-4f).
• Shmuel Katz: One of the pioneers of the labor movement in Dvinsk and a key figure in the founding of the Bund (O3-5f). He participated in organizing the first congress of the movement in 1897 and was considered one of the “veterans” of the movement in the city (O3-5f).
• Ben-Zion Reiner: A Bund activist who specialized in operating underground printing presses for the movement (O3-4f).
• M. Deutsch: Author of the book “On My Revolutionary Work,” published in the Soviet Union in 1933 (O3-1f).

Events and Organizations

• The Bund (Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund): The Jewish socialist workers’ party stands at the center of all the sources. It is described as the driving force behind the organization of workers, the struggle for equality, and the defense of the community (O3-2f, O3-4f, O3-5f).
• The First Congress of the Bund (1897): A founding event in Vilna where the foundations of the movement were laid, with representatives from Dvinsk, including Shmuel Katz, taking part (O3-5f).
• The Revolution of 1905: A period of intense revolutionary activity mentioned as a peak moment for the movement’s activists in Dvinsk, including demonstrations and armed resistance (O3-2f, O3-4f).
• The “Selbstschutz” (self-defense): An armed organization of Jewish workers established to defend the community against pogroms and the forces of the Tsarist regime, using technological means such as self-produced bombs (O3-2f).
• The Holocaust in Latvia: Source O3-4f details the tragic fate of many Bund activists in Dvinsk, who perished in ghettos (such as the Riga Ghetto) or in concentration camps under Nazi occupation (O3-4f).

List of sources

• O3-1f : Cover of the book “On My Revolutionary Work” by M. Deutsch, 1933.
• O3-2f : Article dealing with bomb production and self-defense among Bund workers in Dvinsk.
• O3-3f : Excerpts from the memoir of L. Leibtschke about his life as a Jewish revolutionary worker.
• O3-4f : Biographies of Bund activists in Dvinsk, their public activity, and their fate in the Holocaust.
• O3-5f : Historical overview of Shmuel Katz and the early days of the Bund and the labor movement in Dvinsk.

O3-1f

O3-2f

O3-3f

O3-4f

O3-5f

** end of Bund files **

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