Summary 571
The editor of “Morgn Fray” and “Morgn Frayhayt” was Yehuda Feldwurm (Feld). The collaborators of “Morgn Frayhayt” were also Jakub Korc (Wacław Jabłoński), who survived the war and left most valuable accounts, his wife and sister, Henoch Nulman and his two sons, and Shachne Fayngold. The circulation of the communist press has been, as it seems, overestimated. Some – among them Korc himself – speak of 500 or even 1000 copies of each issue. Much more probable is the number given in the earliest account of Korc: 100 copies.
Contrary to Trotskyists, always eager to engage in ferocious polemics, the communist press avoided political debates with other left wing currents. Of the two titles “Morgn Frayhayt” is of particular interest as it was published on a daily basis. Issues comprise usually 1 or 2 pages, only one issue is 4 pages long. The journal contains mainly information from the illegal radio monitoring (the group had its own radio receiver, the communications were noted down by Korc’s wife). Interestingly, the Communists did not limit themselves to the Soviet radio, but published also information broadcasted by the British radio from London or Cairo. The journal was, obviously, hastily edited, thus many names became distorted (where recognized, they were amended in the present volume). From mid-January the journal contained a number of political statements as well as reports from the ghetto – written probably by Feldwurm and published, as the paper claims, at the request of readers.
An important feature of “Morgn Frayhayt” is a large number of political jokes. The jokes, apparently heard on the streets, were willingly published as a testimony of popular resistance.
The Anti-Fascist Bloc, formed in March 1942, was the first organized form of cooperation between left wing Zionists and Communists. First issue of the Bloc’s journal “Der Ruf” (“The Call”) appeared on 15 May 1942. Disdained by Bund and Gordonia, unwilling to cooperate with the Communists, the Bloc turned out to be short-lived, nevertheless it was an important step that would eventually lead to the creation of the Jewish Fighting Organization.
Translated by Piotr Laskowski
