Page 66 - issue
P. 66
uanians, Latvians, Estonians, and Ukrai- “You tell them, Rosenbaum.” then the Poles and Lithuanians quarreled
nians (of various stripes)6 all fought Shimshon Rosenbaum was a fa- over boundaries, with the Poles grabbing
each other in a Hobbesian nightmare for Vilna and the surrounding territory.7 The
another four years, with things settling mous lawyer and Zionist leader who had Lithuanians considered Vilnius their
down only in 1922. I might add that, learned in Volozhin in his youth; he was ancient capital, their “Jerusalem,” and
during the fighting in the Ukraine, one one of many who moved from yeshi- were beyond furious, but tiny Lithuania
hundred thousand (!) Jews were butch- va to Haskalah to Zionism. As a lawyer was too small to fight Poland. So the two
ered – men, women, and children – by he won great popularity defending rich countries existed side-by-side with toxic
various Ukrainian groups. This has been and poor from the Czarist state. But he relations. You could not cross the border.
largely forgotten, because the Holocaust, was a maskil-and-a-half, one of those It was like the Israeli-Arab borders today.
20 years later, was so huge. As the Talmud types who wanted to replace yeshivos
states: צָרוֹת ַאחֲרוֹנוֹת מְ ַשׁכְחוֹת ֶאת הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת, with secular Jewish schools. Anyway, the For the Jews it was worse. Aside from
the later troubles were so bad, they made Lithuanians appointed him to high office the physical division of half of Lithuanian
one forget about the earlier ones. because of his education and ability. And Jewry from the other,8 it meant that the
now Rosenbaum explained how the Jew- Jewish population in the Republic of Lith-
So, Eastern Europe was an insane ish population throughout Belarus and uania was half of what had been expect-
zone of unrestrained violence and chaos. Western Ukraine described themselves ed by the Lithuanian gentiles. Instead of
In the case of the new country of Lithu- as “Litvaks” and followed “Minhag Lita.” 300,000 Jews, there were only 150,000.
ania, the new Soviet state invaded it as This meant that Lithuanian culture was The smaller numbers made the Jews look
soon as the German army pulled out, alive and well in these parts. Therefore, smaller and weaker, so the gentile au-
and the small Lithuanian army could not these areas should be assigned to the thorities felt they could renege on their
beat them back. Thus, the Reds occu- new Republic of Lithuania. promises of full autonomy and a Golden
pied such places as Vilna and Ponovezh. Era for Lithuania’s Jews. For a few years,
But the Soviets soon got into a big war According to the story, Lenin, who the Lithuanians did honor their prom-
with the new and larger country of Po- was anxious to conclude the treaty so ises, hoping it would persuade the Jews
land and, for strategic reasons, called off he could concentrate on fighting Poland in Vilna to pressure Poland to withdraw
their invasion of Lithuania. Cynically, the (and who was planning to break his word their forces and hand the area back to
Soviet government invited Lithuania to to the Lithuanians anyway), was pre- Lithuania. The Lithuanian government
Moscow to negotiate, figuring once the pared to agree to this basis of defining even established a cabinet Department of
Reds beat Poland, they would easily re- Lithuanian-ness. Just sign the treaty and Jewish Affairs to help the Jews of Lithu-
take tiny Lithuania. move-on was his point of view. Joffee, ania; they appointed (who else?) Shim-
who was actually a Karaite but who knew shon Rosenbaum and, subsequently,
Confused? Good! Judaism, admonished Lenin, “Validimir Max Soloveitzik (Litvish pronunciation)
The Lithuanian delegation, headed by Ilyich, if you accept Rosenbaum’s crite- as ministers of Jewish affairs. But after a
Foreign Minister Voldemaras, arrived in rion, we will have to cede Moscow and few years, it was evident that the recov-
Moscow, where they haggled over bor- Petrograd to the Lithuanians!” ery of Vilna was not going to happen. So
ders. The Lithuanians wanted “kula she- why honor promises made to Jews?
li.” That is, they wanted the Soviet gov- This incident became the stuff of leg-
ernment to recognize new Lithuania’s end, and by the time my father heard the So here we are in the interwar years,
rights to the borders of the old Duchy of story a year or so later, it had morphed the 1920s and 1930s, when the Jews of
Lithuania from earlier centuries; those into the following Jewish tale: Voldema- the Republic of Lithuania tried to or-
borders had been gigantic, and included ras insisted that the language of negotia- ganize themselves and get their act to-
Belarus and Ukraine, as I indicated above. tion be Lithuanian, while Lenin insisted gether vis-à-vis the goyim and vis-à-vis
The Soviet diplomat, Adolph Joffee, a Jew on Russian – whereupon Rosenbaum themselves. Many of the remaining Jew-
who was number-two to Trotsky, chal- turns to Trotsky and Joffee and says, ish landmarks one encounters today in
lenged the Lithuanians, “But the areas “Rabosai, lomir reden mame-lashon! Kaunas date from this era.
you are claiming are inhabited by Belar- (Fellows, let’s talk Yiddish!)”
usians and Ukrainians! There is no trace On both fronts success was problem-
there of Lithuanian ethnicity or culture. uuu atic. The Lithuanian government was
How can you claim them for Lithuania?” just not crazy about the Jews creating “a
“Not true!” exclaimed the Lithuanian A few months after this event, the state within a state” – which is what the
Foreign Minister, turning to his Deputy Polish army surprised the world and in- Zionists were demanding, and which was
Foreign Minister Shimshon Rosenbaum. flicted a great defeat on the Soviet army, something Lithuania had agreed to at
so that the Reds had to withdraw from a the Versailles Conferences after the First
lot of territory. This Polish victory actu-
ally saved Lithuania from the Reds, but
6 The Ukrainians and Belarusians were the big losers. They were swallowed up by Poland and the USSR, with the latter getting 90 percent of their territory and
population.
7 This is the KISS version of the story; the full account would take a few thousand words.
8 Once a year, on Tisha B’Av, Jews from both sides of the border could meet in a certain Jewish cemetery located at the border. You can’t make this up.
58 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
nians (of various stripes)6 all fought Shimshon Rosenbaum was a fa- over boundaries, with the Poles grabbing
each other in a Hobbesian nightmare for Vilna and the surrounding territory.7 The
another four years, with things settling mous lawyer and Zionist leader who had Lithuanians considered Vilnius their
down only in 1922. I might add that, learned in Volozhin in his youth; he was ancient capital, their “Jerusalem,” and
during the fighting in the Ukraine, one one of many who moved from yeshi- were beyond furious, but tiny Lithuania
hundred thousand (!) Jews were butch- va to Haskalah to Zionism. As a lawyer was too small to fight Poland. So the two
ered – men, women, and children – by he won great popularity defending rich countries existed side-by-side with toxic
various Ukrainian groups. This has been and poor from the Czarist state. But he relations. You could not cross the border.
largely forgotten, because the Holocaust, was a maskil-and-a-half, one of those It was like the Israeli-Arab borders today.
20 years later, was so huge. As the Talmud types who wanted to replace yeshivos
states: צָרוֹת ַאחֲרוֹנוֹת מְ ַשׁכְחוֹת ֶאת הָרִאשׁוֹנוֹת, with secular Jewish schools. Anyway, the For the Jews it was worse. Aside from
the later troubles were so bad, they made Lithuanians appointed him to high office the physical division of half of Lithuanian
one forget about the earlier ones. because of his education and ability. And Jewry from the other,8 it meant that the
now Rosenbaum explained how the Jew- Jewish population in the Republic of Lith-
So, Eastern Europe was an insane ish population throughout Belarus and uania was half of what had been expect-
zone of unrestrained violence and chaos. Western Ukraine described themselves ed by the Lithuanian gentiles. Instead of
In the case of the new country of Lithu- as “Litvaks” and followed “Minhag Lita.” 300,000 Jews, there were only 150,000.
ania, the new Soviet state invaded it as This meant that Lithuanian culture was The smaller numbers made the Jews look
soon as the German army pulled out, alive and well in these parts. Therefore, smaller and weaker, so the gentile au-
and the small Lithuanian army could not these areas should be assigned to the thorities felt they could renege on their
beat them back. Thus, the Reds occu- new Republic of Lithuania. promises of full autonomy and a Golden
pied such places as Vilna and Ponovezh. Era for Lithuania’s Jews. For a few years,
But the Soviets soon got into a big war According to the story, Lenin, who the Lithuanians did honor their prom-
with the new and larger country of Po- was anxious to conclude the treaty so ises, hoping it would persuade the Jews
land and, for strategic reasons, called off he could concentrate on fighting Poland in Vilna to pressure Poland to withdraw
their invasion of Lithuania. Cynically, the (and who was planning to break his word their forces and hand the area back to
Soviet government invited Lithuania to to the Lithuanians anyway), was pre- Lithuania. The Lithuanian government
Moscow to negotiate, figuring once the pared to agree to this basis of defining even established a cabinet Department of
Reds beat Poland, they would easily re- Lithuanian-ness. Just sign the treaty and Jewish Affairs to help the Jews of Lithu-
take tiny Lithuania. move-on was his point of view. Joffee, ania; they appointed (who else?) Shim-
who was actually a Karaite but who knew shon Rosenbaum and, subsequently,
Confused? Good! Judaism, admonished Lenin, “Validimir Max Soloveitzik (Litvish pronunciation)
The Lithuanian delegation, headed by Ilyich, if you accept Rosenbaum’s crite- as ministers of Jewish affairs. But after a
Foreign Minister Voldemaras, arrived in rion, we will have to cede Moscow and few years, it was evident that the recov-
Moscow, where they haggled over bor- Petrograd to the Lithuanians!” ery of Vilna was not going to happen. So
ders. The Lithuanians wanted “kula she- why honor promises made to Jews?
li.” That is, they wanted the Soviet gov- This incident became the stuff of leg-
ernment to recognize new Lithuania’s end, and by the time my father heard the So here we are in the interwar years,
rights to the borders of the old Duchy of story a year or so later, it had morphed the 1920s and 1930s, when the Jews of
Lithuania from earlier centuries; those into the following Jewish tale: Voldema- the Republic of Lithuania tried to or-
borders had been gigantic, and included ras insisted that the language of negotia- ganize themselves and get their act to-
Belarus and Ukraine, as I indicated above. tion be Lithuanian, while Lenin insisted gether vis-à-vis the goyim and vis-à-vis
The Soviet diplomat, Adolph Joffee, a Jew on Russian – whereupon Rosenbaum themselves. Many of the remaining Jew-
who was number-two to Trotsky, chal- turns to Trotsky and Joffee and says, ish landmarks one encounters today in
lenged the Lithuanians, “But the areas “Rabosai, lomir reden mame-lashon! Kaunas date from this era.
you are claiming are inhabited by Belar- (Fellows, let’s talk Yiddish!)”
usians and Ukrainians! There is no trace On both fronts success was problem-
there of Lithuanian ethnicity or culture. uuu atic. The Lithuanian government was
How can you claim them for Lithuania?” just not crazy about the Jews creating “a
“Not true!” exclaimed the Lithuanian A few months after this event, the state within a state” – which is what the
Foreign Minister, turning to his Deputy Polish army surprised the world and in- Zionists were demanding, and which was
Foreign Minister Shimshon Rosenbaum. flicted a great defeat on the Soviet army, something Lithuania had agreed to at
so that the Reds had to withdraw from a the Versailles Conferences after the First
lot of territory. This Polish victory actu-
ally saved Lithuania from the Reds, but
6 The Ukrainians and Belarusians were the big losers. They were swallowed up by Poland and the USSR, with the latter getting 90 percent of their territory and
population.
7 This is the KISS version of the story; the full account would take a few thousand words.
8 Once a year, on Tisha B’Av, Jews from both sides of the border could meet in a certain Jewish cemetery located at the border. You can’t make this up.
58 u www.wherewhatwhen.com u
