Folkspartei
Encyclopedia
The Folkspartei was founded after the 1905 pogrom
s in the Russian Empire
by Simon Dubnow
and Israel Efrojkin. The party took part to several elections in Poland
and Lithuania
in the 1920s and 1930s and did not survive the Shoah
.
(1860-1941), Jews are a nation
on the spiritual and intellectual level and should strive towards their national and cultural autonomy
in the diaspora
(galuth) in some way a secularized and modernized version of the Council of Four Lands
under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. He said, "How then should Jewish autonomy assert itself? It must, of course, be in full agreement with the character of the Jewish national idea. Jewry, as a spiritual or cultural nation, cannot in the Diaspora seek territorial or political separatism, but only a social or a national-cultural autonomy."
Close to the Bund for the emphasis on Yiddish and its culture, it differed from that party by its middle class, craftsmen and intellectual base, but also because of its ideological options. According to Dubnov, assimilation
was not a natural phenomenon and the Jewish political struggle should be centered on a Jewish autonomy based upon community, language and education, and not upon class struggle
as advocated by Bundist theorists. It was a liberal party in economic matters, committed to political democracy and secularism.
(former member of the Zionist Socialist Workers Party
) was appointed Minister for Jewish Affairs in the Ukrainian People's Republic
in April 1918, replacing Fareynikte
Moishe Zilberfarb. He was succeeded by Abraham Revutzky of Poale Zion
.
in 1916 in order to contend for the municipal elections (under German occupation), where they gained 4 seats, including Noach Pryłucki
, one of the founders of the party's newspaper, later renamed as 'Der Moment'. He was also elected at the 1919 Constituent Sejm
, but had to resign for a citizenship matter.
The party split in 1927 between the Warsaw branch, led by Pryłucki, and the Vilnius (then a part of Poland) branch, led by Dr. Zemach Shabad
, less hostile to Zionism than the Warsaw branch but more Yiddish-centered. After the split the party seems to have declined, with an attempt to revitalize it in Warsaw in 1935. At the 1936 Jewish community elections in Warsaw, the Folkspartei only got 1 seat out of 50, while the Bund got 15.
In the 1922-27 Polish Parliament
(Sejm) Noach Pryłucki was the only Folkist MP out of 35 Jewish MPs (25 Zionists, but no Bundist). He was elected on the list of the Bloc of National Minorities
.
), was elected (or rather succeeded elected MP Naphtali Friedman
, a nonpartisan lawyer, after his death) for the Folkspartei on a common Jewish electoral list (with the Zionist parties and Agudat Israel
) at the first elected Lituanian Parliament (Seimas
) in 1920 when there were 6 Jewish parties deputies out of 112.
Vilnius (Yiddish: Vilna), where Jews formed the majority of the population, was incorporated into Poland in 1922-1939, and also sent at least one Folkist to the Polish Parliament (Sejm
), Zemach Shabad
(Szabad)(1864-1935).
The next elections (1922) were rigged against the Polish and Jewish minorities, but the Seimas was dissolved and another Folkist, the lawyer Oizer Finkelstein (also spelled Euser), was elected in 1923 on a national minorities bloc. In 1926 a coup d'état took place in Lithuania and the parliament was dissolved in 1927.
The Folkist newspaper in interwar Lithuania was the 'Folksblat', published in Kaunas
.
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
by Simon Dubnow
Simon Dubnow
Simon Dubnow was a Jewish historian, writer and activist...
and Israel Efrojkin. The party took part to several elections in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
in the 1920s and 1930s and did not survive the Shoah
Shoah
Shoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
.
Ideology
According to the historian Simon DubnowSimon Dubnow
Simon Dubnow was a Jewish historian, writer and activist...
(1860-1941), Jews are a nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
on the spiritual and intellectual level and should strive towards their national and cultural autonomy
National personal autonomy
The Austromarxist principle of national personal autonomy , developed by Otto Bauer in his 1907 book Die Nationalitätenfrage und die Sozialdemokratie was seen by him a way of gathering the geographically divided members of the same nation, "organize nations not in territorial bodies but in simple...
in the diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
(galuth) in some way a secularized and modernized version of the Council of Four Lands
Council of Four Lands
The Council of Four Lands in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from 1580 to 1764. Seventy delegates from local kehillot met to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community...
under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. He said, "How then should Jewish autonomy assert itself? It must, of course, be in full agreement with the character of the Jewish national idea. Jewry, as a spiritual or cultural nation, cannot in the Diaspora seek territorial or political separatism, but only a social or a national-cultural autonomy."
Close to the Bund for the emphasis on Yiddish and its culture, it differed from that party by its middle class, craftsmen and intellectual base, but also because of its ideological options. According to Dubnov, assimilation
Jewish assimilation
Jewish assimilation refers to the cultural assimilation and social integration of Jews in their surrounding culture. Assimilation became legally possible in Europe during the Age of Enlightenment.-Background:Judaism forbids the worship of other gods...
was not a natural phenomenon and the Jewish political struggle should be centered on a Jewish autonomy based upon community, language and education, and not upon class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
as advocated by Bundist theorists. It was a liberal party in economic matters, committed to political democracy and secularism.
Folkspartei in Ukraine
The Folkist Ya'akov Ze'ev Latsky ("Bertoldi")Zeev Latsky
Ya'akov Ze'ev Latsky was a Jewish Russian political and Yiddishist activist and briefly a Minister in the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1918....
(former member of the Zionist Socialist Workers Party
Zionist Socialist Workers Party
Zionist Socialist Workers Party , often referred to simply as 'Zionist-Socialists' or 'S.S.' by their Russian initials, was a Jewish socialist territorialist political party in the Russian Empire and Poland, that emerged out of the Vozrozhdenie group in 1904. The party held its founding conference...
) was appointed Minister for Jewish Affairs in the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...
in April 1918, replacing Fareynikte
United Jewish Socialist Workers Party
United Jewish Socialist Workers Party was a political party in Poland and certain regions of the Russian Empire . Its followers were generally known simply for the first portion of the name Fareynikte - 'United'. Politically the party favored national personal autonomy for the Jewish community...
Moishe Zilberfarb. He was succeeded by Abraham Revutzky of Poale Zion
Poale Zion
Poale Zion was a Movement of Marxist Zionist Jewish workers circles founded in various cities of the Russian Empire about the turn of the century after the Bund rejected Zionism in 1901.-Formation and early years:Poale Zion parties and organisations were started across the Jewish diaspora in the...
.
Folkspartei in Poland
A local organization and a newspaper, Warszawer Togblat (The Warsaw Daily), was set up in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1916 in order to contend for the municipal elections (under German occupation), where they gained 4 seats, including Noach Pryłucki
Noach Pryłucki
Noach Pryłucki was a Jewish Polish politician from the Folkspartei.In the years 1910-1936 he was the editor of the Folkist newspaper Warszawer Togblat , later renamed as Der Moment...
, one of the founders of the party's newspaper, later renamed as 'Der Moment'. He was also elected at the 1919 Constituent Sejm
Polish legislative election, 1919
The Polish legislative election, 1919 took place on 26 January and were the first election in the Second Polish Republic. The elections, based on universal suffrage and proportional representation, produced a parliament balanced between Right, Left and Center...
, but had to resign for a citizenship matter.
The party split in 1927 between the Warsaw branch, led by Pryłucki, and the Vilnius (then a part of Poland) branch, led by Dr. Zemach Shabad
Zemach Shabad
Zemach Shabad was a Jewish doctor and social and political activist...
, less hostile to Zionism than the Warsaw branch but more Yiddish-centered. After the split the party seems to have declined, with an attempt to revitalize it in Warsaw in 1935. At the 1936 Jewish community elections in Warsaw, the Folkspartei only got 1 seat out of 50, while the Bund got 15.
In the 1922-27 Polish Parliament
Polish parliament
Polish parliament is an expression referring to the historical Polish parliaments. It implies chaos and general disorder, and that no real decision can be reached during sessions...
(Sejm) Noach Pryłucki was the only Folkist MP out of 35 Jewish MPs (25 Zionists, but no Bundist). He was elected on the list of the Bloc of National Minorities
Bloc of National Minorities
Blok Mniejszości Narodowych , was a political party in the Second Polish Republic, representing a coalition of various ethnic minorities in Poland, primarily Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews and Germans. The Bloc was co-founded by Yitzhak Gruenbaum, a Polish-Jewish politician...
.
Folkspartei in Lithuania
Lawyer and banker Shmuel Landau (also spelled Landoi), later municipal councillor in Ponevezh (Lit. PanevėžysPanevežys
Panevėžys see also other names, is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2008, it occupied 50 square kilometers with 113,653 inhabitants. The largest multifunctional arena in Panevėžys is the Cido Arena...
), was elected (or rather succeeded elected MP Naphtali Friedman
Naphtali Friedman
Naphtali Friedman , from Panevėžys, was a Jewish Lithuanian lawyer and politician born in 1863, deceased in 1921....
, a nonpartisan lawyer, after his death) for the Folkspartei on a common Jewish electoral list (with the Zionist parties and Agudat Israel
Agudat Israel
Agudat Yisrael began as the original political party representing the ultra-Orthodox population of Israel. It was the umbrella party for almost all ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, and before that in the British Mandate of Palestine...
) at the first elected Lituanian Parliament (Seimas
Seimas
The Seimas is the unicameral Lithuanian parliament. It has 141 members that are elected for a four-year term. About half of the members of this legislative body are elected in individual constituencies , and the other half are elected by nationwide vote according to proportional representation...
) in 1920 when there were 6 Jewish parties deputies out of 112.
Vilnius (Yiddish: Vilna), where Jews formed the majority of the population, was incorporated into Poland in 1922-1939, and also sent at least one Folkist to the Polish Parliament (Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
), Zemach Shabad
Zemach Shabad
Zemach Shabad was a Jewish doctor and social and political activist...
(Szabad)(1864-1935).
The next elections (1922) were rigged against the Polish and Jewish minorities, but the Seimas was dissolved and another Folkist, the lawyer Oizer Finkelstein (also spelled Euser), was elected in 1923 on a national minorities bloc. In 1926 a coup d'état took place in Lithuania and the parliament was dissolved in 1927.
The Folkist newspaper in interwar Lithuania was the 'Folksblat', published in Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
.
Sources
- C. Bezalel Sherman, Bund, Galuth nationalism, Yiddishism, Herzl Institute Pamphlet no.6, New York, 1958
- Mitchell Cohen, Ber Borochov and Socialist Zionism (From the introduction to Class Struggle and the Jewish Nation: Selected Essays in Marxist Zionism by Ber Borochov; Mitchell Cohen, ed. Transacation Books:1984)
- Joseph Marcus, Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland, 1919-1939, Mouton Publishers, Berlin - New York - Amsterdam
- Joseph Rosin, Mariampol (Marijampole)
- The Holocaust revealed, Lithuania
Additional bibliography
- Mark Kiel, "The Ideology of the Folks-Partey," Soviet Jewish Affairs (London) 5 (1975):75-89