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			{{Short description\|WWII-era organization in the Soviet Union}}
	{{More footnotes\|date=June 2020}}		{{More footnotes\|date=June 2020}}

	The '''Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee'''{{efn\|{{~~lang-~~ru\|Еврейский антифашистский комитет}}, ''Yevreysky antifashistsky komitet''<br />{{~~lang-~~yi\|יידישער אנטי פאשיסטישער קאמיטעט}}, ''Yidisher anti fashistisher komitet''.}}, abbreviated as '''JAC'''{{efn\|{{~~lang-~~ru\|ЕАК}}, ''YeAK''}}, was an organization that was created in the Soviet Union during World War II to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against ], particularly from the ].<ref name=Zax/> It was organized by the Jewish ] ~~(labor union)~~ leaders ] and ], upon an initiative of Soviet authorities, in fall 1941; both were released from prison in connection with their participation.<ref>] (8 July 2010) "." Translated from the Hebrew by David Fachler. ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved 21 October 2015.</ref><ref>Blatman, Daniel (6 August 2010). "." Translated from the Hebrew by David Fachler. ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved 21 October 2015.</ref> Following their re-arrest, in December 1941, the Committee was reformed on ]'s order<ref>]. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. 2003. page 560.</ref> in ] in April 1942 with the official support of the Soviet authorities. In 1952, as part of the persecution of Jews in the last year part of Stalin's rule (for example, the "]"), most prominent members of the JAC were arrested on trumped-up spying charges, tortured, tried in secret proceedings, and executed in the basement of ]. Stalin and elements of the ~~KGB~~ were worried about their influence and connections with the West.<ref name=Zax>{{cite news\|work=The Forward\|author1=Talya Zax\|title=65 Years Ago, The USSR Murdered Its Greatest Jewish Poets. What's Left Of Their Legacy?\|url=http://forward.com/culture/379568/65-years-ago-the-ussr-murdered-its-greatest-jewish-poets-whats-left-of-thei\|access-date=August 12, 2017\|date=August 12, 2017\|quote=...they...were executed in the 's basement.}}</ref> They were officially ] in 1988.		The '''Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee''',{{efn\|{{langx\|ru\|Еврейский антифашистский комитет}} ''Yevreysky antifashistsky komitet''<br />{{langx\|yi\|יידישער אנטי פאשיסטישער קאמיטעט}}, ''Yidisher anti fashistisher komitet''.}} abbreviated as '''JAC''',{{efn\|{{langx\|ru\|ЕАК}}, ''YeAK''}} was an organization that was created in the ] during ] to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against ], particularly from the ].<ref name=Zax/> It was organized by the Jewish ] leaders ] and ], upon an initiative of Soviet authorities, in fall 1941; both were released from prison in connection with their participation.<ref>] (8 July 2010) "." Translated from the Hebrew by David Fachler. ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved 21 October 2015.</ref><ref>Blatman, Daniel (6 August 2010). "." Translated from the Hebrew by David Fachler. ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved 21 October 2015.</ref> Following their re-arrest, in December 1941, the Committee was reformed on ]'s order<ref>]. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. 2003. page 560.</ref> in ] in April 1942 with the official support of the Soviet authorities. In 1952, as part of the persecution of Jews in the last year part of Stalin's rule (for example, the "]"), most prominent members of the JAC were arrested on trumped-up spying charges, tortured, tried in secret proceedings, and executed in the basement of ]. Stalin and elements of the ] were worried about their influence and connections with the West.<ref name=Zax>{{cite news\|work=The Forward\|author1=Talya Zax\|title=65 Years Ago, The USSR Murdered Its Greatest Jewish Poets. What's Left Of Their Legacy?\|url=http://forward.com/culture/379568/65-years-ago-the-ussr-murdered-its-greatest-jewish-poets-whats-left-of-thei\|access-date=August 12, 2017\|date=August 12, 2017\|quote=...they...were executed in the 's basement.}}</ref> They were officially ] in 1988.

	==Activities==		==Activities==
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	==Persecution==		==Persecution==
	]		]
	Towards the end and immediately after the war, the JAC became involved in documenting ]. This ran contrary to the official Soviet policy to present it as atrocities against all Soviet citizens, not acknowledging the specific ] of the Jews.		Towards the end and immediately after the war, the JAC became involved in documenting ]. This ran contrary to the official Soviet policy to present it as atrocities against all Soviet citizens, not acknowledging the specific ] of the Jews.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/academic/stalins-bureaucracy-in-action-the-jewish-anti-fascist-committee.html\|title=Stalin's Bureaucracy in Action: The Creation and Destruction of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee\|author=Shimon Redlich\|website=The World Holocaust Remembrance Center}}</ref>

	Committee members had ] especially in the US at the outset of the ] and this may have contributed to them later being accused of treason and espionage.		Committee members had ] especially in the US at the outset of the ] and this may have contributed to them later being accused of treason and espionage.

	The contacts with American Jewish organizations resulted in the plan to publish '']'' simultaneously in the US and the Soviet Union, documenting the Holocaust and participation of Jews in the ]. The Black Book was indeed published in ] in 1946, but no Russian edition appeared. The ] ] were broken up in 1948, when the political situation of Soviet Jewry deteriorated.		The contacts with American Jewish organizations resulted in the plan to publish '']'' simultaneously in the US and the Soviet Union, documenting the Holocaust and participation of Jews in the ]. The Black Book was indeed published in ] in 1946, but no Russian edition appeared. The ] ] were broken up in 1948, when the political situation of Soviet Jewry deteriorated.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/15/books/chapters/quotstalins-secret-pogrom-the-postwar-inquisition-of-the.html\|title="Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee"\|author=Joshua Rubenstein\|website=The New York Times\|date=15 July 2001}}</ref>

	In January 1948, Mikhoels was killed in ] by ] agents who staged the murder as a car accident.<ref name="reflections">] ''Reflections on a Ravaged Century'' (2000) {{ISBN\|0-393-04818-7}}</ref> The members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were arrested. They were charged with disloyalty, ], cosmopolitanism, and planning to ~~set up a~~ Jewish ~~republic~~ in ~~] to serve US interests.~~		In January 1948, Mikhoels was killed in ] by ] agents who staged the murder as a car accident.<ref name="reflections">] ''Reflections on a Ravaged Century'' (2000) {{ISBN\|0-393-04818-7}}</ref> The members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were arrested. They were charged with disloyalty, ], cosmopolitanism, and planning to establish ] to serve US interests.

	In January 1949, the Soviet mass media launched a massive propaganda campaign against "]s", unmistakably aimed at Jews. Markish observed at the time: "Hitler wanted to destroy us physically, Stalin wants to do it spiritually." On 12 August 1952, at least thirteen prominent Yiddish writers were executed in the event known as the "]" ("Ночь казненных поэтов").		In January 1949, the Soviet mass media launched a massive propaganda campaign against "]s", unmistakably aimed at Jews. Markish observed at the time: "Hitler wanted to destroy us physically, Stalin wants to do it spiritually." On 12 August 1952, at least thirteen prominent Yiddish writers were executed in the event known as the "]" ("Ночь казненных поэтов").<ref>{{cite journal\|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4466454\|title=The Jewish Antifascist Committee in the Soviet Union\|author=Shimon Redlich\|journal=Jewish Social Studies\|year=1969 \|volume=31 \|issue=1 \|pages=25–36 \|jstor=4466454 }}</ref>

	==List of notable JAC members==		==List of notable JAC members==
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	==See also==		==See also==
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	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	* {{ISBN\|0-300-08486-2}} ''Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee'' (by Joshua Rubenstein)		* {{ISBN\|0-300-08486-2}} ''Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee'' (by ])
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			{{Jews in the Soviet Union}}

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Latest revision as of 20:44, 24 October 2024

WWII-era organization in the Soviet Union

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, abbreviated as JAC, was an organization that was created in the Soviet Union during World War II to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against Nazi Germany, particularly from the West. It was organized by the Jewish Bund leaders Henryk Erlich and Victor Alter, upon an initiative of Soviet authorities, in fall 1941; both were released from prison in connection with their participation. Following their re-arrest, in December 1941, the Committee was reformed on Joseph Stalin's order in Kuibyshev in April 1942 with the official support of the Soviet authorities. In 1952, as part of the persecution of Jews in the last year part of Stalin's rule (for example, the "Doctors' plot"), most prominent members of the JAC were arrested on trumped-up spying charges, tortured, tried in secret proceedings, and executed in the basement of Lubyanka Prison. Stalin and elements of the Ministry of State Security were worried about their influence and connections with the West. They were officially rehabilitated in 1988.

Activities

Solomon Mikhoels, the popular actor and director of the Moscow State Jewish Theatre, was appointed the JAC chairman. The JAC's newspaper in Yiddish was called Eynigkayt (אייניקייט "Unity", Cyrillic: Эйникейт).

The JAC broadcast pro-Soviet propaganda to foreign audiences, assuring them of the absence of antisemitism in the Soviet Union. In 1943, Mikhoels and Itzik Feffer, the first official representatives of the Soviet Jewry allowed to visit the West, embarked on a seven-month tour to the United States, Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom to increase their support for the Lend-Lease. In the US, they were welcomed by a National Reception Committee chaired by Albert Einstein and by B.Z. Goldberg, Sholem Aleichem's son-in-law, and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The largest pro-Soviet rally ever in the United States was held on July 8 at the Polo Grounds, where 50,000 people listened to Mikhoels, Feffer, Fiorello H. La Guardia, Sholem Asch, and Chairman of World Jewish Congress Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise. Among others, they met Chaim Weizmann, Charlie Chaplin, Marc Chagall, Paul Robeson and Lion Feuchtwanger.

In addition to the funds for the Soviet war effort – US$16 million raised in the US, $15 million in England, $1 million in Mexico, $750,000 in Mandatory Palestine – other help was also contributed: machinery, medical equipment, medicine, ambulances, clothes. On July 16, 1943, Pravda reported: "Mikhoels and Feffer received a message from Chicago that a special conference of the Joint initiated a campaign to finance a thousand ambulances for the needs of the Red Army." The visit drew the attention of the American public to the necessity of entering the European war.

Persecution

Towards the end and immediately after the war, the JAC became involved in documenting the Holocaust. This ran contrary to the official Soviet policy to present it as atrocities against all Soviet citizens, not acknowledging the specific genocide of the Jews.

Committee members had international contacts especially in the US at the outset of the Cold War and this may have contributed to them later being accused of treason and espionage.

The contacts with American Jewish organizations resulted in the plan to publish The Black Book of Soviet Jewry simultaneously in the US and the Soviet Union, documenting the Holocaust and participation of Jews in the resistance movement. The Black Book was indeed published in New York City in 1946, but no Russian edition appeared. The typeface galleys were broken up in 1948, when the political situation of Soviet Jewry deteriorated.

In January 1948, Mikhoels was killed in Minsk by Ministry of State Security agents who staged the murder as a car accident. The members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were arrested. They were charged with disloyalty, bourgeois nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and planning to establish Jewish autonomy in Crimea to serve US interests.

In January 1949, the Soviet mass media launched a massive propaganda campaign against "rootless cosmopolitans", unmistakably aimed at Jews. Markish observed at the time: "Hitler wanted to destroy us physically, Stalin wants to do it spiritually." On 12 August 1952, at least thirteen prominent Yiddish writers were executed in the event known as the "Night of the Murdered Poets" ("Ночь казненных поэтов").

List of notable JAC members

The size of JAC fluctuated with time. According to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (200 Years Together), it grew to have about 70 members.

Solomon Mikhoels (Chairman), the actor-director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater
Solomon Lozovsky (Secretary), a former Soviet vice-minister of Foreign Affairs and the head of the Soviet Information Bureau
Shakne Epshtein (Secretary and editor of the Eynikeyt newspaper)
Itzik Feffer, a poet
Ilya Ehrenburg, a writer
Eli Falkovich, a writer
Solomon Bregman, a deputy minister of State Control
Aaron Katz, a Red Army general of the Stalin Military Academy
Boris Shimeliovich, the Chief Surgeon of the Red Army and director of Botkin Hospital
Joseph Yuzefovich, a historian
Leib Kvitko, a poet
Peretz Markish, a poet
Isaak Nusinov, a linguist and literature critic
David Bergelson, a writer
David Hofstein, a poet
Benjamin Zuskin, an actor
Ilya Vatenberg, an editor
Shlomo Shleifer, Chief Rabbi of Moscow
Emilia Teumin, an editor
Leon Talmy, a journalist, translator
Khayke Vatenberg-Ostrowskaya, a translator
Lina Stern, a biochemist, physiologist and humanist and the first female full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Israel Fisanovich, submarine commander, Hero of the Soviet Union
Shmuel Halkin, a poet

Notes

Russian: Еврейский антифашистский комитет Yevreysky antifashistsky komitet
Yiddish: יידישער אנטי פאשיסטישער קאמיטעט, Yidisher anti fashistisher komitet.
Russian: ЕАК, YeAK

References

^ Talya Zax (August 12, 2017). "65 Years Ago, The USSR Murdered Its Greatest Jewish Poets. What's Left Of Their Legacy?". The Forward. Retrieved August 12, 2017. ...they...were executed in the 's basement.
Blatman, Daniel (8 July 2010) "Alter, Wiktor." Translated from the Hebrew by David Fachler. YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
Blatman, Daniel (6 August 2010). "Ehrlich, Henryk." Translated from the Hebrew by David Fachler. YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
Sebag-Montefiore, Simon. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. 2003. page 560.
Shimon Redlich. "Stalin's Bureaucracy in Action: The Creation and Destruction of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee". The World Holocaust Remembrance Center.
Joshua Rubenstein (15 July 2001). ""Stalin's Secret Pogrom: The Postwar Inquisition of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee"". The New York Times.
Robert Conquest Reflections on a Ravaged Century (2000) ISBN 0-393-04818-7
Shimon Redlich (1969). "The Jewish Antifascist Committee in the Soviet Union". Jewish Social Studies. 31 (1): 25–36. JSTOR 4466454.

External links

Memorandum concerning the Jewish Antifascist Committee sent to Mikhail Suslov in June 1946 (Library of Congress archives)
JAC case (in Russian language) at International Democracy Fund Archives
Stalin's secret pogrom: Commies who became politically incorrect (By Chuck Morse)
Beyond the Pale: The history of Jews in Russia
Group photo of the members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
Stalin’s Bureaucracy in Action: The Creation and Destruction of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee Shimon Redlich, War, Holocaust and Stalinism: A Documented Study of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee in the USSR, Luxembourg: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1995. Reviewed by Theodore H. Friedgut
(in Russian) JAC and its end
(in Russian) JAC, Soviet repressions and its demise

v t e Jews and Judaism in the Soviet Union
History	The Holocaust in the Soviet Union Jewish autonomy in Crimea Jewish Autonomous Oblast (JAO) Birobidzhan Jewish history in the JAO
Organizations	Jewish Communist Party (EKP) Jewish Communist Youth Union (EKSM) Yevsektsiya Komzet OZET Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
Soviet antisemitism	1931 Menshevik Trial Night of the Murdered Poets Doctors' plot Rootless cosmopolitan Anti-cosmopolitan campaign Joseph Stalin and antisemitism
Zionism	Soviet anti-Zionism Anti-Zionist Committee 1970s Soviet Union aliyah Refusenik Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking
International activism	Organization for Jewish Colonization in Russia Soviet Jewry movement National Coalition Supporting Soviet Jewry Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry Cleveland Council Nativ Freedom Sunday Jackson–Vanik amendment
Media and publications	Am Yisrael Chai Jews on Land The Black Book of Soviet Jewry

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