The final splitting off of the Kombund faction and the loss of some of its members did nothing to weaken the Bund internally. On the contrary—they made it stronger. We were rid of an enemy that had wanted to destroy the movement from within. The party grew more unified and better prepared for battle.
But great difficulties arose in the arena of the trade union movement. Many of the activists of the Kombund had played a leading role in several of the Warsaw unions. They were the leading figures in the Warsaw administration of the Textile Workers Union, the Leather Workers Union, the Lumber Workers Union, and the Bakers Union.
On the other hand, the following Warsaw trade unions remained under the aegis of the Bund: the largest of all, the Garment Workers Union; the Leather-Haberdashers Union (saddlers and harness makers, glove makers, sport haberdashers, etc.); the Metal Workers Union; the Food Workers Union (chocolates, candies, and sweet pastries); the Hairdressers Union; the Printers Union; the Paper Workers Union; and others.
In addition, the Bund had a great many followers in the unions the Communists took over. Within those unions were close-knit, Bundist circles. In the unions in which we retained leadership, the Communists also had their followers.
A basic difference in the tactics between the two “oppositional circles” within the unions of our two opposing camps immediately became apparent. The Bundist circles were loyal to the union work of the Communist-dominated unions in which they were members. They did not conspire to tear the union apart from within or disturb its struggle to better the working conditions of the workers. The Communist circles in the Bund-dominated unions, on the other hand, displayed the highest measure of disloyalty, working to undermine any and every activity undertaken by those unions. They tried taking them over, using every disruptive means possible—and if that didn’t work, tried to break those unions by insulting and smearing their Socialist leaders, not stopping short of physical attacks.
The Communists also introduced something hitherto unknown in the labor movement—physical violence. Up until then the struggle between the labor parties was an intense one, but it never overstepped the boundaries of a battle of words. Now for the first time, the Communists introduced a new “argument” to the interparty struggles—the fist, the knife, and the revolver.
They were particularly brutal toward the Bund. As a result we came to understand that caring for the safety of our activists and for the security of our members and our labor institutions was now an urgent need.
From quite another direction, it became apparent that the attacks by the antisemitic hooligans and the police provocateurs—police or police agents dressed in civilian clothes—were not going to be a temporary thing, and that we would have to deal with them for a long time to come. The idea began to take hold that we must create a permanent Bundist self-defense unit that would always be ready to protect our party’s clubs, libraries, offices, soup kitchens, and schools, safeguarding the physical safety of our comrades and activists against the continual dangers coming from both the left and the right.
Up to this point, organizing the defense of our meetings was sporadic. When a larger event or street demonstration was being organized, and it needed to be guarded against an attack, or needed some way to simply keep order, several suitable comrades were selected from each local of the party based in our various unions. They were given armbands, and before the meeting, were given the necessary instructions. After the meeting, the group would be disbanded until the next time a meeting or demonstration required protection. We would then request each union to again send us a group of volunteers to serve as guards. Naturally, the same comrades would always volunteer.
But after the Communists began attacking our institutions, disturbing and disrupting our closed sessions and open meetings, and physically attacking our activists, and when the attacks of the antisemitic hooligans and police also continued, the Warsaw Central Committee decided to organize a standing defense unit, a Bundist militia, to protect our movement. I was given the task of preparing a set of rules for this new militia, finding recruits for it, and leading it.