Vladimir Medem

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Picture of Medem from the Medem Library in Paris

Vladimir Davidovich Medem, né Grinberg (

Jewish Labour Bund. The Medem Library in Paris, the largest European Yiddish
institution, bears his name.

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Life

Son of a Russian medical officer who had converted from Judaism to

Kiev University and developed an interest in the Yiddish-speaking proletariat and their harsh living conditions. He was preoccupied by the fact that the Russian Jews had no nation and no right to strike. In spite of his interest in Jewish affairs, Medem did not re-convert to Judaism. However, when arrested in 1901 for activities as a Bund member, he identified himself to the police as a Jew.[2]

Medem only learned Yiddish at the age of 22; the language was taboo in his family environment. Because of a student strike in 1899, he had to leave the university, and at that time, inspired by

Jewish revolutionaries from the Russian Empire would dilute their strength.[3] This Bundist authority was undone at the 2nd Congress of the RSDLP however after Julius Martov's faction of the RSDLP voted against recognising the Bund as the "sole representative of the Jewish Proletariat", causing Medem and Kremer to leave the Congress in protest, and thus leading to Vladimir Lenin's majority faction gaining control of the party.[2]

In 1918 the Bund was reestablished as a separate party in newly independent Poland, where Medem once again became its leading theorist.[1]

Medem emigrated to the United States in 1921, arriving in New York in mid January; in the U.S. he served as a representative of the Bund in Poland.[4] He died in New York less than two years later, on 9 January 1923. He is buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Queens, NY.[4]

Influence and legacy

The Jewish Labour Bund was committed to the cultural and national rights of Jews in Eastern Europe. In this regard, Medem dared to oppose the view of Russian Marxists, and even of

Austromarxists, and especially in several Jewish immigrant workers' clubs in Paris, whose members described themselves as Bundists. One such club, which also saw the education of the workers as its main task was given the name Arbeter-klub afn nomen Vladimir Medem (The Vladimir Medem Workers' Club). His educational policy ambitions culminated in 1929 in the founding of the Medem Library [de; fr
], which at 30,000 volumes is now the largest Yiddish cultural institution in Europe.

Main writings

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gechtman, Roni (30 August 2010). "Medem, Vladimir Davidovich". YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  2. ^ a b c d An Introduction to Bundism (1897-1903), retrieved 2023-07-19
  3. ^ The Second Aliyah (1905-1915), retrieved 2023-07-19
  4. ^ a b "Genose Medem toyt". Forverts, 10 January 1923, p. 1, 8. English translation by Daniela Goodman Rabner, available at Mapping Yiddish New York. Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, Columbia University. jewishstudiescolumbia.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.

External links

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