The arrogance and anti-Semitism of the new Polish leaders only aggravated the situation. The city teemed with scores of Communist agents who carried out a sys- tematic campaign against the Polish authorities. This agitation and propaganda enjoyed much success. The old Bund activists were no longer around. The Bundist youth was heavily dominated by Communist ideologies. To join the Polish Bund, to recognize the leadership of its central committee in Warsaw, was viewed by many of these young Bundists as a self-defeating act that would link them more strongly with Poland, contrary to their leftist, revolutionary orientation. Only a few Jewish workers of the old Bundist school remained ded- icated to their democratic convictions and were not infected by the Communist fever. To this small group fell the task of building a new Bundist movement from scratch. This very difficult reconstruction effort in a Polish Bialystok was routinely thwarted by the Communists, who stopped at nothing — character assassination and other shameful tactics — in order to undermine the Bund in the eyes of the Bia- lystoker Jewish proletariat. Nonetheless, the Bundist BUND COMMITTEE IN BIALYSTOK IN 1906 Right to left: Albert Lurie, Ana and Pawel Rozental (An- man), and Taras. loyalists assumed their heavy burden, knowing in advance they were risking not only denigration by the Jewish Communists but also endangering their very lives. The full resources of the government were, after all, at the disposal of the Communists in their campaign against the Bund. But the Bundist stalwarts were not intimidated, each one carrying out his specific mission for the Bund. During the quarter century between the two World Wars, the most favorable conditions for the growth of Jewish Communism prevailed in Bialystok, at the expense of the Polish Bund. Despite these disadvantageous circumstances, the Bund did succeed in rebuilding a strong organization in Bialystok that won a majority of Jewish working-class votes during municipal and community elections. Through a broad network of schools and cultural insti- tutions that gained prominence throughout Poland and The Bialystoker Memorial Book with a Bund majority in the trade unions, the conclu- sion that the natural, historical party of the Jewish working class was and remained the Bund became inescapable. * * * Bialystok was not just another Jewish city. Bialy- stoker Jews were true Yiddishists. The Bund in Bialy- stok prided itself on its multifaceted Yiddish cultural and educational work. The four large day schools that it operated, educating many hundreds of students, were all in the heavily Jewish-populated workers’ neighborhoods. It was truly a remarkable group of Bundists who carried on the Yiddish school movement in Bialystok. In addition to the external threats — constant edicts from the government and the municipal bureaucrats, a chronic shortage of funds, rendering the Bundist schools lable to eviction because the rent could not be paid — there were internal problems within the Bund as well. Often the teachers would attack the administra- tion, because they went many months without receiving their meager wages. Patience wore thin. It should not be forgotten that the Jewish Commu- nists did everything possible to inflame the teachers and the technical personnel in Bialystok even further, in order to leave the unmistakable impression that the school board was a band of bloodsuckers, indifferent to the fate of teachers and support personnel. One really had to possess an inexhaustable enthusi- asm, a profound belief in the creative powers of the Jewish masses and true Bundist dedication, in order to Operate the Bundist school movement in Bialystok under such conditions. A word about the Sholem Aleichem Library in Bialystok. It was celebrated throughout Poland as the largest Jewish lhbrary, containing the most Yiddish books. There was virtually no Yiddish publication that could not be found in this library. This veritable treasury was collected over a period of years. The founder of the library, who gave it all his free time and full commitment, was the Bundist Izchok Rywkin. All of Bialystok knew that he was not just the library’s administrator but its heart and soul as well. His life was devoted to Yiddish books and rare manu- scripts. Always striving to enlarge the collection of the Sholem Aleichem Library, he often traveled to Warsaw to buy new books for his beloved child, the library. He frequently confronted people with his inability to understand how they could occupy themselves with other matters besides the library. Later he was extermi- nated by the Nazis. * * * The small group of Bundist loyalists in Bialystok wrested the Jewish trade unions from Communist con- trol, restoring them to the influence of Jewish Socialism under the Bund’s banner. Ultimately, the Bund 23