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American Jewish Anti-Bolshevism describes the anti-communist views of certain American Jews after the February Revolution and October Revolution, a time that was also called the Red Scare. These views were mainly held by affluent American Jews. American Jewish leaders, such as Louis Marshall and Cyrus Adler, attempted to avoid contact with Bolsheviks and some actively engaged in ant-Bolshevik propaganda.[1] Otto H. Kahn and other affluent Jews also took anti-Bolshevik stances. This position and those Jews that held it were supported by non-Jews as well, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Francis H. Sisson, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Adolph Lewisohn, Mortimer L. Schiff, and Felix M. Warburg.[1] [2] [3] Many Jews took part in non-Bolshevik organizations to help Russia.[1]

Background

According to Zosa Szajkowski, writing in 1974: “American Jews did not look as one man upon the event of 1917-1918; nor did they adopt a unanimous attitude to the Red Scare in 1919-1920”.[4] Most American Jews during the Red Scare held the view German anti-semitism was less direct than the Russian variety.[5] Israel Goldberg wrote, “Countless thousands of Jews in America had felt the Russian knout, in one form or another, on their own skins”. [5] To these refugees, the Russian Revolution seemed like starting point of socialist democracy at home.[6] According to Richard Gid Powers writing in 1995, “Commisnism’s influence among the poorer Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe alarmed the wealthier, more established German Jewish community. Their instrument for fighting Jewish communism was the American Jewish Committee, founded in [1906] in large part to check the spread of radicalism among poorer Jews.” [7] Powers describes how members of the American Jewish Committee reacted as they realized that anti-Semitic anticommunist were beginning to believe that the entire Russian Revolution was a product of Jewish work [7].

American Jewish Anti-Bolshevik Organizations during the First Red Scare

The Russian Information Bureau

The Russian Information Bureau was located in the Woolworth Building at 233 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, and it was an extension to the Russian Liberation Committee [8][9] The Russian Information Bureau produced anti-Bolshevik propaganda in the United States immediately during the first years of the Red Scare[9], and it was organized and directed by Arkady Joseph Sack, a Russian Jewish immigrant.[10] Sack created the Bureau after the February Revolution.[10] The Bureau was also closely liked with Russian Embassy in Washington and the American-Russian Chamber of Commerce.[9] After November 1917, the Bureau included Louis Marshall, Jacob Schiff, Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman, Oscar S. Straus, and Stephen S. Wise as honorary advisers[10] (other notable honorary advisers were: Theodore Roosevelt, Edward N. Hurley, Nicholas Murray Butler, Lawrence F. Abbot, Charles A Coffin, Darwin Kingsley, Samuel McRoberts, and Charles H. Sabin). [11][9] Sack published the periodical, Struggling Russia, beginning March 22, 1919 through the Bureau.[12] Additionally, the Bureau published other anti-Bolshevik books, pamphlets, leaflets, and press releases by numerous authors including Sack.[12] Sack and the Bureau were the object of criticism from liberals and radicals; however, he was praised by John Spargo when he wrote:[12]

Sack has been a regiment by himself; he has been a whole army of propagandists compressed and concentrated in a single human form. What he has done, there are few of us who really can appreciate to the full.

John Spargo, Spargo to J. G. Phelps, Stokes Papers pg. 58

Close to the end of the first Red Scare, Sack lost financial support from the former Russian Embassy, and by 1921 Sack and the Bureau suffered from a lack of funding Close to the end of the first Red Scare, Sack lost financial support from the former Russian Embassy, and by 1921 Sack and the Bureau suffered from a lack of funding.[12] During this year, Sack is quoted in Bolshevism Due For Crash, Says Anti-Red Agent, a Times-Picayune article from January 31: [13]

The situation within Bolshevist Russia is critical. The economic life of the country is destroyed, according even to the Bolshevist official data. According to number 235 of the official Bolshevist daily, Pravda, which contains a comparative table of manufacturing outputs for the first half of the year of 1920, as compared with corresponding period of 1914, the present output of iron in Bolshevist Russia is only 12 percent of the output before the war; steel, 4 percent; cotton, 20 percent; coal, 25 percent. The area under cultivation is only 24 percent as compared with land cultivated in 1914.

By June 1922, the Russian Information Bureau closed.[14] After the Bureau’s closing, Marshall wrote to Sack:[14]

I sincerely hope that your cherished hopes for the regeneration of Russia and for the overthrow of the twin tyrannies, Tsarism and Bolshevism, may soon be realized…

— Louis Marshall

The American Jewish Committee

Main article: American Jewish Committee

The members of the American Jewish Committee, which was formed in 1906[15], also dealt with the first Red Scare. Some members were also honorary advisors of the Russian Information Bureau, such as Louis Marshall and Jacob H. Schiff.[16] During the Russian Revolution, the Committee worked to prevent the association of all Jews with Communism, and it was led by Louis Marshall.[7] In 1918, Schiff wrote to Marshall that they should take Sack’s warnings about the perceived Jewish involvement in the Bolshevik party and the results of this perception both in Russia and in the United States seriously by writing:[17]

"dark days may indeed be in store for our coreligionists in Russia. But what is even worse, the danger exists even in our own country, that this tale of the Jews being back of the Bolshevik movement…may find considerable credence, which if we can, we should prevent."

— Jacob H. Schiff

The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee, likewise, on September 24th, 1918 discussed a proposal with the following suggestions:[18]

  1. Starting a publicity campaign to inform the public about the current situation in Russia.
  2. Issuing a statement on behalf of the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee that stated that most Jews in Russia were not sympathetic with the Bolsheviks despite the fact that some of Bolshevik leaders were Jews.
  3. Writing a letter to President Woodrow Wilson to support his appeal for restoring order in Russia
  4. Consulting Boris Alexandrovich Bakhmeteff on these matters

During this same meeting, it was decided that a special committee, including Louis Marshall, Cyrus Adler, and Oscar S. Straus be formed with the authorization to make disbursements out of the American Jewish Committee’s Emergency Trust Fund.[19] Judah Leon Magnes decided to resign from the Executive Committee because the stance that the Committee took on Russia.[19] Magnes believed that the Bolshevik party was an improvement over Tsardom. [7] The American Jewish Committee received coverage in the New-York Tribune and the Chicago Yidisher Kurier in relation to Magnes resignation. In response to this coverage, the American Jewish Committee denied the accusations of being against certain Jews made against it.[19] The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee discussed the positions of A. J. Sack and Harry Schneiderman on whether to admit that Jews were Bolsheviks in Russia at their meeting held on October 20, 1918.[20] Strauss informed the Executive Committee that Bakhmeteff believed that it would be unjust to claim that Russian Jews were greatly sympathetic with the Bolshevik part.[20] The Committee decided to write a statement by the American Jewish Committee that would be issued by the State Department.[20] The statement was called “The Jews and the Bolshevik Party”.[21] [22]

The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee deem it a duty to associate themselves most closely with the view of the Secretary of State and to express their horror and detestation of the mob tyranny incompatible with the ideas of a republican democracy which is now exercised by the Bolshevik government as being destructive of life, property and the political and personal rights of the individual. …All those political parties which sought to bring about reforms in Russia drew much of their strength and intellect from among the Jews, who had the most to gain from any amelioration of the political system. Jews were as prominent among the conservative reforms parties, such as the Cadets, as among the extreme radicals. …The Lenin-Trotsky Cabinet has several members of Jewish ancestry…which led to the erroneous assumption that the Jews of Russia were identified with this bloodthirsty and irresponsible group. The Jews of Russia in overwhelming proportion are not in sympathy with the doctrines and much less with the methods of the Bolsheviki. Lenin gas said of the Bund, which is a radical labor organization composed of Jews that they are worse that the Cadets. There are insistent reports that in many localities Jews are the victims of outrages at the hands of the Bolsheviki as bad if not worse than those suffered at the hands of the autocratic government. There are also reports that the Bolsheviki leaders have made vain attempts to range the Jews on their side by offering them government support for their theatres, schools and publishing enterprises.The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee have sincerely at heart the welfare of the Russian people and have full confidence in the ultimate emergence of Russia as one of the greatest democracies in the family of nations. The Committee are profoundly appreciative of the fact that one of the first acts of the Russian people after the Revolution was the emancipation of the five million Jews of Russia. They would, therefore, regards as a great calamity both to the Jews of Russia and to the future of Russia itself, the general acceptance of the erroneous idea that the Jews of Russia, as such, countenance the misdeeds of the Bolsheviki. While there are Jews identified with the Bolsheviki movement, this is merely because Jews are affiliated with all parties in Russia. …It is as unjust and unreasonable to infer from the prominence of some individuals Jews in the Bolshevik peart that the Jews of Russia subscribe to it, as to infer the contrary from the isolated fact that a Jewish girl attempted to assassinate Lenin. Such an inference if generally accepted would be eagerly seized upon by the reactionary elements of Russia who would once again make of the Jews a scapegoat for all the wrong suffered by Russia because of Bolshevik misrule. As the main body of the Jews are ranged on the side of law and order in Russia, this would be a great calamity and would help to defer the realization of the hopes of those who are working for the early creation in Russia of an orderly, democratic government.

The Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee, AJC Archives, Adler files [21]

The previous statement was issued together with the support of the State Department and the following statement was sent by telegram to all American ambassadors and ministers in the Allied and neutral countries along with the American Jewish Committee's statment:[20] [22]

In view of the earnest desire of the people of the United States to befriend the Russian people and lend them all possible assistance in their struggle to reconstruct their nation upon the principles of democracy and self-government, and acting therefore solely in the interests of the Russian people themselves, this Government feels that it cannot be silent or refrain from expressing its horror at this existing terrorism. Furthermore, it believes that in order successfully to check the further increase of the indiscriminate slaughter of Russian citizens all civilized nations should register their abhorrence of such barbarism.

State Department Statement, AJC Archives, Adler Files[20]

Central Figures

Louis Marshall

Main article: Louis Marshall

In 1919 during the Overman Committee hearings, Marshall was called on as a witness as a member of the anti-Bolshevik Russian community. [23].On December 1, 1920, the American Jewish Committee along with other major Jewish organizations published statements to rebut Henry Ford’s antisemitic propaganda that blamed the economic troubles of the world on Jews.[24] Their reply statement not only attacked Ford but incorporated a denial of the view that Jews were dominantly the cause of Bolshevism and a broader attack on Bolshevism. [25] Throughout the decade, the Committee had to return to the topic of Jewish participation in the Bolshevik party in part because of the high rate of participation of Jews that were American Communists.[26]

Arkady Joseph Sack

Arkady Josephy Sack was the director of the Russian Information Bureau from its opening until its closing. He published articles, periodicals, and books between 1917 and 1922 on the February Revolution, October Revolution, Bolshevism, Russia and the role of peasants and Jews in the Bolshevik party.

Selected Publications

Sack, A. J. 1918. The birth of the Russian democracy. New York city: Russian Information Bureau.

Sack, A. J. 1919. Struggling Russia. New York: Russian Information Bureau.

Sack, A. J. 2001 [original print 1919]. Democracy and Bolshevism. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Vol 84 (1), pp. 102 - 107.

Controversies

Henry Ford and Anti-Semitism

Main article: The_Dearborn_Independent § Antisemitic_articles

In the June 12th edition of the Dearborn Independent, which was owned by Henry Ford, in 1920, the front page asked "The Jewish Question - Fact of Fancy?"[27] The issue was focused on the "new" German Jewish community, whom the articles accused of tribalism and causing misfortune; the article received backlash from American Jewish press and the American Jewish Committee in defense of all Jews.[28]

Resignation of Judah Leon Magnes

Main article: Judah Leon Magnes

In response to the American Jewish Committee's rejection of claims that asserted a connection between Jews and Bolshevism and its support of President Woodrow Wilson's desire to restore order in Russia, Judah Leon Magnes resigned from the Committee [29] The New York Tribune used Magnes' resignation to attack radicals, and the Chicago Yidisher Kurier used it to criticize the American Jewish Committee.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 194
  2. ^ Roosevelt, Theordore. 1918. Bolshevism and Applied Anti-Bolshevism. The Outlook, pg. 92
  3. ^ Ruotsila, Markku. 2001. British and American Anti-communism Before the Cold War. England: Routledge
  4. ^ Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg.5
  5. ^ a b Goldberg, Israel. 1954. The Jews in America. New York: The World Publishing Company, pg. 241-2
  6. ^ Powers, Richard Gid. 1995. Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism. New York, New York: The Free Press, pg.8
  7. ^ a b c d Powers, Richard Gid. 1995. Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism. New York, New York: The Free Press, pg.46-47
  8. ^ Wes, Marinus A. 1990. Michael Rostovtzeff, Historian in Exile. Stuttgart: F. Steiner, pg. 50
  9. ^ a b c d Kennan, George F. 1958. Soviet-American Relations, 1917-1920 Volume 2: The Decision to Intervene. Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pg. 322-23
  10. ^ a b c Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 194
  11. ^ Roberts, Priscilla. 1997. Jewish Bankers, Russia, and the Soviet Union, 1900-1940: The Case of Kuhn, Loeb and Company. American Jewish archives 49(1-2):9-37, pg. 34
  12. ^ a b c d Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 195
  13. ^ Sack, Arkady Joseph. Bolshevism Due For Crash, Says Anti-Red Agent
  14. ^ a b Szajkowski, Zosa.1977. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 3. New York: Ktav Pub, pg 165
  15. ^ Lederhendler, Eli. 2017. American Jewry: A New Story. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pg.192
  16. ^ Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 194
  17. ^ Szajowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg 196
  18. ^ Szajowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg 196-97
  19. ^ a b c d Szajowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Commumism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 197
  20. ^ a b c d e Szajowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Commumism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 198
  21. ^ a b Szajowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Commumism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg. 199
  22. ^ a b American Jewish Committee, Adler files
  23. ^ McFadden, David W. 1993. Alternative paths : Soviets and Americans, 1917-1920. New York: Oxford University Press, pg.296
  24. ^ Powers, Richard Gid. 1995. Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism. New York, New York: The Free Press, pg.48
  25. ^ Szajowski, Zosa. 1974.Jews, Wars, and Commumism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub, pg 200
  26. ^ Gerrits, Andre. 2011. The myth of Jewish communism: a historical interpretation. New York: P.I.E. Peter Lang, pg. 96
  27. ^ Baldwin, Neil. 2001. Henry Ford and the Jews. New York: PublicAffairs, pg. 129
  28. ^ Baldwin, Neil. 2001. Henry Ford and the Jews. New York: PublicAffairs, pg. 133
  29. ^ Kotzin, Daniel P. 2010. Judah L. Magnes: An American Jewish Nonconformist. New York: Syracuse University Press, pg. 153-54

Bibliography

American Jewish Committee, Adler files.

Baldwin, Neil. 2001. Henry Ford and the Jews. New York: PublicAffairs

Gerrits, Andre. 2011. The myth of Jewish communism: a historical interpretation. New York: P.I.E. Peter Lang.

Goldberg, Israel. 1954. The Jews in America. New York: The World Publishing Company.

Kennan, George F. 1958. Soviet-American Relations, 1917-1920 Volume 2: The Decision to Intervene. Princeton New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Kotzin, Daniel P. 2010. Judah L. Magnes: An American Jewish Nonconformist. New York: Syracuse University Press

Lederhendler, Eli. 2017. American Jewry: A New Story. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

McFadden, David W. 1993. Alternative paths : Soviets and Americans, 1917-1920. New York: Oxford University Press.

Powers, Richard Gid. 1995. Not Without Honor: The History of American Anticommunism. New York, New York: The Free Press.

Roberts, Priscilla. 1997. Jewish Bankers, Russia, and the Soviet Union, 1900-1940: The Case of Kuhn, Loeb and Company. American Jewish archives 49(1-2):9-37.

Roosevelt, Theordore. 1918. Bolshevism and Applied Anti-Bolshevism. The Outlook.

Ruotsila, Markku. 2001. British and American Anti-communism Before the Cold War. England: Routledge.

Sack, Arkady Joseph. Bolshevism Due For Crash, Says Anti-Red Agent

Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Pub.

Wes, Marinus A. 1990. Michael Rostovtzeff, Historian in Exile. Stuttgart: F. Steiner.





Jewish Anti-Red Reactions during Red Scare

Feeling the need to protect Jews both at home and abroad, some American Jews reacted with anti-Bolshevism. The American Jewish Committee took an anti-Bolshevik stance during this period and fought to ensure that Jews were not directly associated with Bolshevism.[1] Another organization, the Russian Information Bureau with ties to Russian government[2]

  1. ^ Szajkowski, Zosa. 1974. Jews, Wars, and Communism Volume 2. New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc, pg.196-201
  2. ^ Kennan, George F. 1958. Soviet-American Relations, 1917-1920. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, pg.322
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