We had not yet quite gotten used to the physical violence that the Communists had introduced into the labor movement, to their reckless exploits and the fights they were continually inciting—when they gave us a fresh blow which shocked and dismayed us at the level of our most fundamental, deeply held, Socialist conceptions of decency and morality.
During the ceaseless attacks on our meetings and offices, we began to see, more and more often, well-known Warsaw underworld characters among their combatants. After a while, we noticed the same underworld characters appearing again and again, till it became clear that this was no coincidence, but rather that the Communists were turning to a new tactic: employing the underworld in their battle against other working-class parties.
This stunned our ranks. Rooted among the organized workers was the belief that the labor movement and the underworld were like fire and water. As far back as 1905, the Warsaw Jewish workers attacked the whorehouses, mercilessly beating up the pimps. For the workers it was clear that the end of oppression and enslavement meant the end of the underworld miasma as well. And here, suddenly, the underworld appeared as a part of the Communist camp, helping the Communists in their battles against other working-class parties.
A large number of these new Communist underworld associates occupied quite a “high position” in the Warsaw Jewish underworld. In the first rank were Hershl “Walczący,” Pinie Gadulnik, Mayer Czompl, and Dovid Milner.
Hershl “Walczący” (he got the nickname “Walczący”—fighter—because he used to work as a boxer in the Warsaw circus) was a strong, broad-shouldered, healthy young man. His chief profession was extorting protection money from shopkeepers, threatening them with “damages” if they didn’t pay.
Later Hershl was promoted to the status of an “enforcer” on Świętojerska Street, a branch of the Nalewki, which extended the length of the Krasińskich Garden and where there were a lot of Jewish ready-made clothing stores. Every such store employed people to stand outside and persuade customers to come into the shop. Such employees were called “catchers” because they used to latch on to every passerby, pulling him by the sleeve, sometimes pulling him into the store by force. Some underworld characters insinuated themselves among the “catchers,” demanding a percentage of the receipts, even though they did not bring in any customers. They would stand outside a shop, once in a while casually grabbing a passerby, but mainly asserting their domination of the street. The shopkeepers had to pay them off weekly, and rather handsomely at that. These thugs were referred to as “The Strong-Arms,” an organized group. The money they extorted from the shopkeepers they divided amongst themselves. Hershl “Walczący” was their leader on Świętojerska Street.
Pinye Gadulnik “Plapler” (a reference to his propensity to babble: plapler, one who jabbers or babbles) came from Powązki and belonged to the Powązki underworld. For a time he belonged to Piłsudski’s Legions, but he was thrown out of their ranks for some underhanded doings. Pinye Gadulnik was another one of the strong-arms on Świętojerska Street.
A third one of these thugs, Maier Czompel, was also from Powązki. His whole family—his father, and several of his brothers—coal haulers—all belonged to the underworld. Maier Czompel looked like a refined young man, but sticking a knife into someone’s side was as small a thing to him as eating a slice of bread. Pinie Gadulnik brought Maier Czompel into the gang of strong-arms on Świętojerska Street, but they later dethroned Hershl from his leadership. This created a great impression in the underworld. A song was even composed about this “accomplishment” that became popular in Warsaw beyond the borders of the underworld.1
But the wildest and the most dangerous among the Communist goons from the underworld was Dovid Milner. Upon first meeting him, you were favorably impressed. He was of middle height, big-boned, strong, with light brown hair—a good-looking fellow. He had many “trades.” He was an enforcer (a kneecap-breaking, bad-debt collector), a shill at auctions, and with many “brides” on the street. On top of all that, he was also “king” of several whorehouses on Ostrowska Street. As a cover for all these criminal activities, he was, ostensibly, a coal hauler. He was one of the biggest thugs and one of the most dangerous strong-arms in the Warsaw underworld. Because of a dispute over bad-debt money, he shot Maier Czompel and ran away to Argentina, returning to Warsaw in the thirties. But up until the time he ran away, he was for many years the terror of our whole movement, leading some of the bloodiest Communist attacks on the Bund.
Also belonging to the standing “staff” of Communist assailants against the Bund was Froyim “Bults.” He was a baker by trade and a big shot in the Bakers Union when the Communists took it over, but in fact he never worked at his trade. He lived off “brides,” that is, prostitutes—primarily maidservants. He chose his brides so that each one had a different wychodne (day off), so that they wouldn’t know that others were also working for him. He had these brides in addition to his wife. But brides were not his only trade. He also kept a whorehouse. When the union of housemaids was organized, he immediately became a constant visitor, with the purpose, of course, of finding some new brides for himself. They had to drive him out with sticks.
It was such a gang of underworld characters the Communists enlisted in their battle with the Bund. What’s more, they even gave them a cover of legality. The union of retail clerks in Warsaw was then under the influence of the Communists. The criminal strong-arm enforcers pretended to be “catchers.” Catchers were generally honest young fellows who really worked very hard, standing on the street in the heat and frost, virtually dragging customers into the shops that employed them. The Communist Union organized the catchers as a separate local of their Retail Clerks Union. They then signed the underworld characters into this local of honest catchers, securing for them the cover of a legal workers organization. It was for this reason that these thugs were so willing to do whatever little job the Communists assigned them. They did these jobs not simply because beating people black-and-blue was their beloved “profession,” but also because they were thus able to cover up a large part of their criminal activities under the mantle of a political party and a legal trade union.
Not all of these thugs were left unmoved by this partnership. It stands to reason that in time a part of the underworld toughs that the Communist Party used in its terrorist attacks against the Bund, became … convinced Communists. In other words, they now administered their beatings because of “ideology,” because of “revolution,” because of “communism.” To convert a simple thug, empty of any ideas, into a Communist, was not very hard. He needed only to join the party, which in any case preached and justified violence against all its opponents, especially against the party of Socialists, “traitors to the working class,” who may be fought with by any and all means. It was a short distance from being a common thug associated with the Communist Party to becoming an “ideological” terrorist. It was thus easy for the Communists to find powerful strong-arms among these underworld characters who bolstered their criminal battle against the Bund. Because of them, our defense against the Communist assailants became much more difficult.
1.The song:
Harshl iz geven eyner fun di groyse
Un vemen er hot gezen, hot er geheysn gebm a koyse.
Haynt geyt Harshl aropgelozt di noz,
Er hot gekrign “leyges” (klep) un veyst dokh nisht far vos.
Harshl, vu geystu?—Harshl vu shteystu?—
Harshl, vu bistu mit dayne grobe hent?
Du host shoyn nisht keyn hent,
Du host shoyn nisht keyn vent,
Du vest shoyn nisht nemen af Shvyente-yerske keyn protsent.
Harshl iz geven der shenster fun zey ale
Iz gekumen Maier Czompel un hot im tsugenumen di kale,
Haynt geyt Harshl aropgelozt di noz,
Er hot gekrign “leyges” un veyst dokh nisht far vos.
(Refrain)
Harshl hot geshpilt in orde-borde-shorde,
Iz gekumen Maier Shtempl un hot im ongeribm di morde,
Haynt geyt Harshl aropgelozt di noz,
Er hot gekrign “leyges” un veyst dokh nit far vos.
(Refrain)
Unrhymed, more-or-less literal translation:
Harshl [not Hershl] was one of the big shots,
And whomever he saw he demanded of him a drink.
Today Harshl walks around with his head [nose] held down,
He was beaten and doesn’t know why.
Refrain:
Harshl, where are you going?—Harshl, where are you standing?
Harshl, where are you with your thick hands?
Now you have no hands,
Now you have no walls,
You won’t be taking any percentages anymore on Svyente-Yerske.
Harshl was the handsomest of them all,
Came Maier Czompel and took away his bride.
Today Harshl walks around with his head down,
He was beaten and doesn’t know why.
(Refrain)
Harshl played “orde-borde-shorde”
Came Maier Czompel and rubbed his chin,
Today Harsh walks around with his head down,
He was beaten and doesn’t know why.
(Refrain)