For Democrats in general, and for progressive Jews in particular, the fight against fascism was a top priority. It intensified in France beginning in 1934.
In late 1935, a broad Jewish democratic popular movement was launched at the initiative of Jewish communist immigrants. Their These organizations, which are already very active, are becoming increasingly dynamic: health clinics, summer camps, the women’s movement, choirs, cultural activities, sports, mutual aid…
In May 1936, France was in an uproar; a coalition of left-wing parties formed the Popular Front, which enjoyed overwhelming support from Jews who had immigrated.
But in Spain, the civil war was about to tear the country apart. The Republic was in peril. By the end of July, many militant Jewish immigrants had joined the Spanish Republican fighters and then enlisted in the International Brigades. Their goal: to come to the aid of the Spanish Republic, which was under attack by Franco with the supportof Hitler and Mussolini.
Still deeply committed to the anti-fascist struggle, they took up arms, like all the other brigade members, alongside the Spanish Republicans.
These activists had already fought against authoritarian and anti-communist regimes in Eastern Europe to defend what they called “human emancipation.” They confronted anti-Jewish hatred in their various countries of origin long before the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in the 1930s and became accustomed to living underground.
In Spain, they joined the ranks of the other fighters, but some wished to highlight the specific contribution of Yiddish-speaking Jews to the defense of the Republic and joined the Botwin Company, which brought together Jews from several countries and bore the internationalist motto on its flag: “For your freedom and ours.”
The text is written in Spanish, Polish, and Yiddish.
In September 1937, at the initiative of progressive Jewish organizations, the World Congress for the Defense of Yiddish Culture was held in Paris; Yiddish culture was then at its peak but threatened by the political climate in Europe. The participants, representing a wide range of viewpoints but united by a shared awareness of a common danger, reached a consensus on defending Yiddish culture in the face of anti-Semitism and fascism.
