p.132, Translated by Mickey Flacks

Chapter Seven

Haynt, Yitskhok Grinboym And Jewish Politics In Poland

Sh. I. Yatskan created Haynt and made it the largest circulation Yiddish newspaper in Europe, Avrom Goldberg deepened the ideological and social character of Haynt, and sought to put it on the level of a modern newspaper. But the person who brought Haynt to its highest level was Yitzkhok Greenboim. He gave Haynt the strength and will to fight the foreign foes, who denied Jews their very existence in Poland, as well as the enemies on the “Jewish street”, who opposed modern Jewish national aspirations and those who opposed the Jewish renaissance in a Jewish land. Just as he formulated the political program of Polish Jewry, and influenced the perspective of Haynt and influenced its staff, so did he inspire the Jewish masses. Under his political leadership, the newspaper stood at the vanguard, along with the leaders who led the struggle for basic human rights for Jews in Poland and for a Jewish homeland in Israel.

Haynt helped to spread Greenboim’s ideas and popularized his program, which was mainly based on the premise that the plight of the Jews in Poland would not improve through intercessions or concessions – and what kind of concessions did the Jews have to give, Greenboim deeply held that in politics, nothing is given, and that only through struggle would the Jews be able to win their full citizenship rights. In his private conversations with co-workers, he presented no illusions that the fight would be easy, and he warned that the price would be dear, but that the Jewish settlement in Poland must engage in the struggle, irrespective of the individuals who might become victims.

Greenboim was a radical in the Zionist movement. He was protective of the democratic principles of the organization, and fought those who tried to move Zionism in conservative directions; he opposed compromises with the right wing of the movement; on issues of the development of Israel, he supported the collective pioneer ideology.

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Greenboim was an exemplary supporter of the “Helsinki Program”, which was adopted at the meeting of Russian Zionists in Helsinki, Finland in November, 1906. There it was determined that the struggle for Israel and the struggle for the rights of diaspora Jews were tied together, and that Zionist goals could not be realized unless Jews obtained full citizenship rights in the countries where they lived. As a young man of 27, Greenboim participated in the Helsinki Conference within the delegation of Polish Zionists. He was a speaker for the “Present-Work” – the political strategy that Zionists must carry out in each country, and the Helsinki Program became, for him, the cornerstone of his political work in Poland, the basis of his political beliefs.

Greenboim’s political program in free Poland largely mirrored the ideas that Haynt advanced during the Duma elections in 1912, and his tactics were a more developed, more concrete and basic formulation of the tactics that the Haynt writers advocated. Greenboim clad them in political raiment: specifically referring to the Program and determining the actions necessary for its realization. He placed himself at the forefront of the political struggle – which the paper was naturally reluctant to do. Now, under Greenboim’s leadership, it appeared that the position of Haynt would prevail. The Jewish world sought measures to defend itself against the attacks on its existence, and was anxious for a leader to show it the way and lead it in struggle. In the person of Yitzkhak Greenboim, the Jews of Poland found both. Haynt, which stood by Greenboim in the difficult struggle, emerged as an equal partner in his triumph. Greenboim and Haynt created a symbiosis. Greenboim was the beloved leader and Haynt was the beloved newspaper.

 

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That which Haynt, early in its history, understood only with its Jewish-nationalist instincts, political Yitzkhak Greenboim formulated and developed into firm postulates. He had the power of imagination, was the folk voice of Haynt and became the voice of the people. Nobody before him had won so much of the trust of Polish Jewry, and nobody after him had his fantastic influence. He was practically deified by the people. During election campaigns, or when he reported on the political situation in the country, or appearing at lectures in Warsaw on Zionist problems and issues, or wherever he went in the area, multitudes of Jews were waiting to greet him, moved as if they wanted to physically embrace him, this Greenboim, this leader who gave them a ray of hope, courage and strength for their daily struggle for their very existence. In suspense they listened to his words, and later repeated them like good khasidim repeat the Torah of their rebbe. Greenboim’s articles in Haynt were memorized and his formulations were used for arguments and discussions.

Greenboim’s writing was difficult and labored, and his speeches were long; he spoke slowly, strolling with measured steps from one side of the road to the other, with long pauses between sentences, as if he were deciding what he would say on the spot, and seeking the most apt words.

But his enchantment of the masses was absolute, he hypnotized his listeners. An inner strength pulsated from him, a deep inner conviction of the correctness of the Jewish issue and of his politics. Most people stayed to hear every word of his hours-long speeches at the meetings, just as readers swallowed every word that he wrote in Haynt. Who cared about form and style? Polish Jews were in turmoil and Greenboim brought them the answer like a savior. The deep logic, the overwhelming strength of his arguments, his exceptional ability in speech and writing to analyze a complicated issue, getting to the root of it, and formulating the required political action were important. The masses did not tire of reading his articles or hearing his lectures at mass meetings. The promise that he would be speaking was enough to fill the largest hall. His articles were read by supporters and opponents alike. The supporters saw in him a leader, the opponents were sharply critical. Nobody could ignore Greenboim. He wrote for all and spoke to everybody. No one thought about how he wrote or spoke, just about what he said. The masses were not seeking fiery speeches or beautiful prose, but practicality – and that they found in Greenboim’s political program.

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In pain and suffering he pleaded with the Parliament for rights for his Polish Jews. He thoroughly prepared, carefully collected and presented the factual material, researching all the data. Armed with this, he exposed the government’s anti-Semitic acts and plans. He spoke frankly, did not look for cheap tricks or favored treatment. If one pages through the complete Haynt for the years of Greenboim’s activity in Poland, one can see how tirelessly he participated in the parliamentary struggle to improve the lot of Polish Jewry, and much he was hated. The Endeckes* dreamed up hollow scandals, adventures, alarums of all kinds, banged their fists on the table; but, unafraid, he thundered his accusations against the government. One had to have much personal courage, nerves of steel, good health, and primarily a deep belief in the justice of one’s cause to survive the brutal scenes and continue the work. Breathlessly, the readership of Haynt followed the events in the Parliament that transpired when he spoke.

Greenboim’s articles were usually printed on Fridays or in pre-holiday editions. He was factual, and quickly and thoroughly responded to the day’s problems. It was not unusual for him to speak on Thursday evening in the Parliament, accompanied by the usual uproar and obstructions of the Endeckes and other anti-Semites. Right after his speech, he would go to the Parliamentary library to write an article for Haynt, usually on the same theme that he had just dealt with on the floor of the legislature. Very often it would happen that that the issue of Haynt with Greenboim’s article would be confiscated, ostensibly not because of his article, but for some other offense. Greenboim’s articles could not be confiscated because, as a parliamentary deputy, he was “immune”. But Haynt was not untouchable and the censor would constantly find some excuse or other to confiscate the newspaper.

Greenboim’s social career began quite early. While still in the gymnasia in Platzk, as a student in the fourth class, he was doing Zionist work. In 1902 he founded a library in Platzk, the first Yiddish library in greater Poland. One year later, with Yakov Leshtchinski, he created the “Labor Zionist Circle” in Warsaw. In 1904, when he was 25, he was graduated from the law faculty at Warsaw University, and became secretary to Nakhum Sokolov. In 1911 the czarist authority disbarred him because of his Zionist work which was not permitted in czarist Russia. Five times he was imprisoned for Zionist activity.

 

* Endecks = Endecja = ND = National Democratic Party, an extremely antisemitic, nationalist party in Poland between the two world wars.

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Greenboim began his journalistic career in 1907, and appeared in tens, if not hundreds of periodicals and in daily newspapers in Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian and Polish. The worldwide Yiddish press carried his articles. He wrote both under his own name and under various pseudonyms. A. Knay was the penname he used most, and it was most definitively characterized. Greenboim was quite stubborn in holding fast to his political opinions and beliefs.

During the World War I, Greenboim lived in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), where he continued his Zionist activity under the difficult conditions that existed during the War in the Russian capital. He returned to Poland at the end of September in 1918 (see Chapter 10). He took over the leadership of the Zionist organization and became political editor of two weeklies: “Hatzefira” (The Siren) and “Dos Yiddishe Folk” (The Jewish People), which the Zionist movement published. When Poland was freed, both journals became daily newspapers.

“Dos Yiddishe Folk” began as a daily on January 15, 1919.The competition of this official Zionist organ was too much for Haynt. The newspaper, which had suffered a defeat in the elections to the first City Council in Warsaw in 1916 (See Chapter 3), could not win back the disappointed readers who had left at that time. Bad times befell the workers at Haynt. Wages were meager and not regular. The workers went on strike for a few days, but this had little effect. Wages were once again not paid regularly, money was scarce even for the basic necessities, like the newsprint on which to print the paper. The editorial board was concerned that the paper would not emerge from this crisis. The situation became even worse when the Zionist readers of Haynt migrated to “Dos Yiddishe Folk”.

Dos Yiddishe Folk was not much better off financially. Like all party organs, the newspaper had its party readership, but revenues were meager, far from sufficient to sustain the paper, and the Zionist organization could not afford the luxury of constantly subsidizing it. But the Zionist leadership did not want to give up its daily organ, and sought ways to take on the difficult task of securing the existence of their party newspaper.

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And so was born the idea of merging the two papers. The calculation was that Haynt would inherit thousands of readers from Dos Yiddishe Folk, and the Zionist movement would have dominion over an important newspaper. The matchmaker was Reb Avrom Podlishevski (1862—1930), one of the finest figures in Jewish society in that epoch of Polish Jewry. He was a smooth, warm person, a dedicated Zionist, a lover of Yiddish culture and literature, and possessed of an important virtue: he was a good friend of Sh. I. Yatskan and the Finkelstein brothers. He was a substantial manufacturer-merchant on Gensha Street, and was well known in the city as a serious and honorable person, who was held in great respect.

The match was acceptable to both sides, but there was one big obstacle: Greenboim proposed that Yatskan not be the Managing Editor of Haynt when both newspapers merged.

We have already mentioned that Greenboim had no sympathy for Yatskan’s manner of editing Haynt (see Chapter 1.) He was concerned both with the “hysterical” style, and the serialization of cheap novels that Yatskan had instituted. Back in 1909 when Yatskan met Greenboim on the street, complimented him on his articles then appearing in Fraynt and on the spot proposed that he publish in Haynt, Greenboim refused. In general he did not have too high an opinion of Yatskan. In March, 1912, when one of the founders of Moment, Magnus Krinski, sued Yatskan for insulting him in a series of articles in Haynt, Yatskan engaged Greenboim to be his defense lawyer. Greenboim’s defense rested on the thesis that Yatskan was a product of an environment where words don’t have much meaning, and therefore nobody should be insulted by the cutting expressions in his articles, which, only among cultured people would be considered derogatory.

Irrespective of his attitude towards him, Yatskan held Greenboim in high regard, as he wrote in an article in the series “From Shabbes to Shabbes”, in Haynt on January 18, 1918 – that if Greenboim had remained in Poland during the German occupation “our political activities would have had quite a different appearance”. In that article Yatskan characterized Greenboim as “our young politician, a man of fine character, steadfast loyalty, strong logic, rectitude, and dedication to the ideals he believed in.”

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To Yatskan’s credit it must be said that he did not insist that he must remain the Managing Editor. Haynt was dearer to him than his own ambition to remain at the tiller of the newspaper, and maybe in his heart he understood that he was not the right person to be the editor of a Zionist organ in free Poland. In any case, negotiations were finally completed, and both newspapers merged under Greenboim’s political editorship. Along with Greenboim, the following staff of “Dos Yiddishe Folk” joined Haynt: Dr. Yehoshua Gottlieb, Ekheskel-Moishe Nayman, Khaim Finkleshtein, Menakhem Flakser, Nussn Shvalbe, and Avrom Klaynman. The first issue of the newly merged Haynt appeared on January 1, 1920, under the name “Nayes foon Haynt” (“News of Today”), which was its name at the time because of censorship issues (see chapter 6). A new page was opened in the history of the newspaper and the Yiddish press.

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During the first years of Polish independence, two issues in the realm of “oppositional activity” influenced the lives of its Jewish citizens; these were the election campaign of the Polish parliament in 1922 and the passionate debates surrounding the proceedings on the “ugada” (communication?) in 1925 and 1926 between some Jewish deputies and the government. Yitzkah Greenboim played a decisive role in both issues, and, with the help of Haynt influenced the determination of the position of Jews in society, setting his seal on the entirety of Jewish politics in Poland. The role of Haynt was particularly important during the election campaign of 1922.

The Election Campaign of the National Minority Bloc

The first constitutional Polish parliament adopted the constitution of the Polish Republic in 1921. This was an exemplary piece of democratic lawmaking. All citizens were promised freedom and equality, all had the right to work, the right to elect their representatives to parliament, etc. Theoretically, Jews also were granted these rights along with all citizens. But this was true only on paper, especially since the voting ordinance (regulating parliamentary elections) was so cunningly crafted, that the minorities – and especially the Jews – could only elect a circumscribed number of deputies and senators, a fraction depending on their numbers in the population. In the constitutional commission, Yitkhak Greenboim fought against this attenuation of Jewish voting rights, but he could not alter it. The spokesman of the reactionary deputies in the parliament, the priest Cazimir Lutoslavski (1880-1924), an anti-Semite, struggled mightily to insure that the Jews would have fewer representatives in the Polish parliament. This he called maintaining the Polish-Catholic character of the national government, countering “Jewish infestation.”

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The representatives of the national minorities decided to take up the struggle imposed on them by the Polish national chauvinists, and with the strength of their unity, sought to overcome the attempted assassination of their civil rights. Right at the beginning of the election campaign of 1922, during the first session of the senate, which was supposed to be elected according to the results of the new elections, Itzkhak Greenboim put forth a plan to unite the national minorities in Poland into a single voting bloc. In practice, he proposed that in every precinct where minorities lived in dense masses, only one list should be put forth, with the candidate at the head of the list coming from the minority group with the largest number of voters in the given precinct. After a series of meetings and negotiations, all the minority groups – Germans, Ukrainians – who were noticeably absent from the first parliamentary session – and white Russians, Lithuanians, and certainly Jews accepted the idea of a single election campaign, and the results exceeded all expectations – especially for the Jews. The bloc of the national minority groups elected 100 people, of whom 46 were Jews: 34 deputies and 12 senators.

p.140, Translated by: Ruth Fisher Goodman

From the national minority bloc, as a demonstration of the will, the Polish minority including the Jews will not allow themselves to be robbed of the rights of equal citizenship in the land. Articles were reported daily in the local news Haynt that never tired of informing their readers that Jews must demand and fight for the rights that they were guaranteed in the constitution and that the onslaught of the reactionaries must be stopped. The newspaper continuously stressed the importance of Jews involving themselves in this voting bloc to show their unity and to show the chauvinists that when necessary, Jews can be a unified group and close ranks when fighting for their rights.

The co-workers put heart and soul into their work, not according to their customary norm, but did only the work that was necessary, leaving time for the workers to bind together and work as a united front for their rights. This was the time when Haynt had achieved its greatest height of fiery idealism for an idea-that was good for the community of Polish Jewry. The time for strong communication and great effort was during the voting campaign in the year 1922. This was truly the 'shining hour' of the history of our newspaper. Everything that the newspaper did in that historical campaign to enable the bold struggle against the injustices perpetrated against the Jewish citizens by the Polish government was the nucleus of what was to come. The co-workers of the newspaper undertook the difficult task of producing the publication, believing themselves to be equal partners and an integral part of the struggle for equal rights, and that they were not merely objective observers sitting on the sidelines only to report events around them. They considered their partnership in the struggle to be a natural evolution in their service to the Jewish community and derived satisfaction from the recognition and prestige that their newspaper received. The entire time of the campaign, the newspaper worked under physical and financial hardship in producing the publication. In this campaign, the government stood up and took notice of this very well organized national minority. Under the leadership of Greenbaum, a Jew, the organization helped to raise money to fund the campaign. Isaac Greenbaum was

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recognized as the strong force in guiding the newspaper in the direction it took more than any other newspaper. Therefore, Haynt was made a scapegoat. The government blamed Haynt for its role in the voting campaign and considered them to be the cause of their disastrous defeat. At that time, there was no limit to confiscation.

The triumph in voting gave the Jews a great deal of pride. The representatives and senators who never dreamed they could win felt that they owed a great deal of thanks to Haynt. Among them was the famous Meyer Balaban (1877-1942). His candidacy was put forth in Czestochowa and no one thought that he had a chance to win. No one imagined that the Jewish voting block would be large enough to get a Jewish mandate, especially the local independent party (S.S) who had put forth their own list of candidates, the first being, Joseph Kruk (1885-1973). They thought that since he was a Czestochowaer and very popular, that would be enough to assure his victory; but they were bitterly disappointed. Both their candidates lost. Not even their own friends voted for them. Rafael Federman (1892-1972) relates in his memoirs: "From My Life" (page 391) that after the voting, the leader of p..p..S., Zigmund Zhulovsky (1880-1949) joked at a meeting that if only those who loved him voted for him, Kruk would have gotten more votes than his party's members in Czestochowa.

Upon hearing the good news that Jews prevailed in many of the cities where it came as a surprise to receive the mandate, they also heard that Balaban won the vote in Czestochowa. In an encouraging supportive editorial in Haynt, Balaban warmly thanked the paper for its support during the campaign. At this time, he unfolded a broad political program for his colleagues that he hoped to accomplish in the Sjem (Parliament). In the editorial he was on his way to his first meeting where the newly elected deputies had to take the oath for their legitimacy. As he left, he said: "Well, now let's go govern." But when he arrived at the Sjem, he was made aware that he had not won the vote in Czestochowa.

* Alternate spellings: Censtochov, Chenstchov, Chenstochov, Chenstokhov, Chenstokhov, Chestokhova, Czenstochau, Czestochowa, Czestochowa, Tschenstochau, or Tshenstokhov

 

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The victory of the national Jewish minority bloc and the great number of representatives and senators elected made a strong impression on the Polish political scene. The "Endekes" were consumed with tremendous hostility. Just as it had been ten years earlier, after their defeat of the voting of the fourth session, they saw that the Jewish bloc was standing in their way to gain control and transform Poland into a nation as, nd that Jews would at best be tolerated as second class citizens and that other minorities wouldn't be treated any better. Their first task was to elect the president of the parliament and the division of the national element were determined that under no circumstance would they allow the Jewish bloc to have any influence over who should lead the nation

Thanks to the Jewish vote and the vote of the other minorities from the left and moderate elements, Gabriel Narutovitch (1865-1922), an educated and well known figure in the scholarly community, and a professor in Swiss Universities was elected the first president of Free Poland. But the "Endekes:" refused to concede. They launched a huge campaign against the "Zhids;" against the 'Foreign Nationals' and against the president himself. They maintained that the 'true Polack' wouldn't stand for this insult, that the nation would not allow itself to be led by Jews, Germans, or the Ukrainians.

Professor Gabriel Narutovitch relinquished his oath on Monday, December 11, 1922 and on Saturday, December 16, he fell victim, shot by Eliguish Nievyadamski, a painter and an art historian. He had written political articles in the "Endek" press. He expressed himself exceptionally well with the reactionaries and the Jewish gluttons' opinions. Nievyadamski was sentenced to death by the firing squad. But he wasn't alone for very long. After his execution, prayers were said in his memory and banners hung; priests and leaders in Endek made fiery speeches about his 'heroic' deed. The reactionaries turned the murderer of the first president of the nation into a martyr. Flowers were laid on his grave and it became a custom to visit his grave on the anniversary of his execution every year, and place flowers there.

B. The Falsehood About the "Ugoda"

In 1925 and until the first half of 1926, the Jewish community in Poland, and also Haynt were drawn into the debate for a plan of Polish-Jewish understanding as means of settlement,

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that had come to be known as "Ugoda." The initiative came from the government and its purpose was to find a solution to the Jewish question in Poland. The way that the Polish government was treating the Jews was looked upon by the world with disfavor and the government realized that they had a bad reputation and that it worked against them in their relations with other nations and without good credit, the Polish government couldn't succeed.

The undercover operation of the situation was done in secret. They spoke in whispers so that representative Joshua Thon requested of the education minister, Stanislav Grobski (1871-1949 who was a brother of Premier and Finance Minister Vladislav Grobski) at Friday night dinner of fish. The dinner conversation turned to the issue of the Jews; and so the discussion began so that minister Grobski should draw in representative Leon Reich (1879-1929) who liked the idea. No one knew exactly how the idea spread for a provision of the Ugoda but it came out as a directive and the Jews should put out a special declaration that they are loyal citizens of the nation within its boundaries.

The Polish national boundaries were determined by the great powers in March, 1923 and the Ukraine in eastern Galicia did not want to make peace because they would be forced to govern Poland. They rebelled, threw bombs, committed and consistently sabotaged and performed acts of terror against the Polish nation. But instead of trying to find a compromise, the Polish oppressed the Ukrainians using drastic measures. (It was called 'patsipikatsia.') which only added fuel to the fire (we talk about it in chapters 4 and 16.)

For those who looked upon the situation objectively, it was clear that the “Ugoda” was a political diversion and a cover for the outside world, that the anti-Jewish extermination policy was ended on a more friendly course and that the Jewish declaration was only a show for the outside world; that the Ukrainians are isolated in their political campaign. Thon and Reich, wanted to believe that the government had good intentions. They considered the fact that the government was holding discourses with the Jewish community that it was a show that the ice was beginning to melt.

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How the government would improve the condition of the Jews was not clear. It was not possible to find out from the cabinet ministers what their plan of approach would be to solve the problem. They would only give vague responses. One could not rely on them (the cabinet) to keep the Jewish interests as a priority. It was sufficient that the undercover dealings never came to light.

There was a deep division of thought in the Jewish community in Poland. The differences were sharply divided. The neighborhood representatives who at one time belonged to imperial Russia were decisively negative. Russian Jews, raised under the political struggles of the Czar's oppressive measures, didn't have faith in vague patched applications that had been decided upon behind closed doors.

The Galician representatives, who lived under the moderate rule of Franz Joseph in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, were on the opposite side. They believed that with 'a good word;' from the representative of the Jewish community and with the good counsel of an attorney, bad laws could be changed. They believed that a positive approach would accomplish much more than a negative one in achieving a compromise.

But the opposition could not be won over. Isaac Greenbaum and other members opposed to the "Ugoda" saw no reason why they should rely on the Polish party would want to change their policies toward the Jews. They wanted concrete obligations instead of words alone. They were also opposed to the requirement that the Jews alone of all the minorities supply a special declaration of loyalty to the Polish government.

The Ugoda was openly debated in mass meetings throughout the land. Thousands attended to hear the arguments for and against the Ugoda. The main speakers were: Reich and Thon on one side and Isaac Greenbaum on the other. The discussion went on for months. This went on until Jozef Pilsudski came into power in May, 1926; and on July 9, Premier Kazshimiezsh Bartel (1882-1941) declared that the government will absolutely not make any agreement with the Jews. This is how the Jewish-Polish 'understanding' played out. It was buried before it could see the light of day.

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Haynt was categorically opposed to “Ugoda.” The newspaper printed Thon’s articles, but they maintained that the Polish side was not serious; that the Jews had nothing to gain and that it was not in the government’s interest to improve conditions for Jews. Haynt didn’t agree with the opinions of the supporters of the Ugoda who argued that the tactics used against the government were not beneficial and that new means needed to be found to improve the condition of Jews. The newspaper believed that to suddenly end the political talks without gaining better conditions for Jewish workers without a clear promise, but only with the hope that it would bear fruit in the future is neither the practical nor the correct politic. The writer’s in Haynt maintained that the talks concerning ‘Ugoda’ created a false illusion for Jews and weakened the political struggle for equality, and asked if this was indeed the intent of the government.

That Haynt and the opponents of Ugoda were right in their assessment was shown in the fact that nothing developed from the underground dealings. The deep split in the Jewish community was never healed. The Galician members of the Jewish parliamentary club along with the members of the Ugoda and the big merchants more often than not, showed no enthusiasm to join the political struggle; but their opportunistic activity did nothing to change condition for Jews. Greenbaum understood, after the May upset, that an end had come to the national Polish system of government in which he believed was the only way to accomplish reforms to improve conditions for Jews; that under the new regime it would be difficult to conduct a parliamentary campaign to improve the condition of the Jews. He knew that he could not accomplish reforms for Jews under this new regime and he resigned his position as president of the Jewish Parliamentary Club. Afterward, he resigned from the senatorial mandate and emigrated from Poland.

In 1933, at the 18th congress in Prague, he was elected to the Zionist Executive and immigrated to Israel with his family. However, he kept in contact with “Haynt,” and continued to send articles to them about life in Israel and the problems facing the Zionist movement. He rarely reacted to the happenings in Poland, and only then as a distant observer.