Non-English press of the Communist Party USA

During the nine decades since its establishment in 1919, the Communist Party USA produced or inspired a vast array of newspapers and magazines in at least 25 different languages. This list of the Non-English press of the Communist Party USA provides basic information on each title, along with links to pages dealing with specific publications in greater depth.

Non-English press

Armenian

* '' Panvor'' (The Worker) (1921–1938) — Daily organ of the Armenian Workers Party and later the Armenian Communist Party, published in New York City. The publication, which resembled a magazine in form and content, published news from Soviet Armenia, theoretical material, and serialized translations of politically oriented fiction.Robert Mirak, "Armenians," in Dirk Hoerder with Christiane Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s: Volume 2: Migrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987; pp. 532-533. Only a handful of issues have survived in the United States.
** '' Lraper'' (The Herald) (1938-June 1990) — Successor to ''Panyor,'' initially published in New York City three times a week, before being reduced to two issues a week in 1964 and to a weekly publication cycle in 1967.Mirak, "Armenians," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 2, pp. 531. The paper was issued by the Armenian Progressive League of America and its affiliated social-benefit society, the Armenian Assistance Committee and moved its production to Los Angeles in 1979. Throughout its existence, ''Lraper'' provided news from Soviet Armenia and included works of Marxist theory as well as national news of the Armenian-American community.
* '' Proletar'' (The Proletarian) (1924-1925?) — Short-lived 4-page weekly newspaper published in New York City.Solon DeLeon and Nathan Fine (eds.), ''American Labor Press Directory.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, 1925; pg. 21. Claimed circulation in 1924 was 1,100 copies.

Bulgarian

* ''Suznanie'' (Consciousness) (December 1923 – 1937) — Weekly newspaper published in Chicago by the Bulgarian Section of the Workers Party of America. The initial editor of the paper was Georgi Radulov, who was succeeded in 1924 by Todor Tsekov, who continued at the helm until 1931.Nikolay G. Altankov, "Bulgarians," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 2, pg. 460. At the 4th National Convention of the Workers (Communist) Party, held in Chicago in August 1925, the circulation of the paper was claimed at 1900 copies. Publication of the paper later moved to Detroit, Michigan. Some copies of the paper exist in Bulgaria but there are no known repositories in North America.

Croatian

* '' Glas Komunista'' (Communist Voice) (1919) — Short-lived Croatian-language newspaper which was published in Chicago in the fall of 1919 as the official organ of Yugoslav adherents of the Communist Party of America. Only one issue is known, dated November 1, 1919.
* '' Komunista'' (1921-1922?) — According to ''Official Bulletin No. 2'' of the unified Communist Party of America, a Croatian-language edition of the official organ of the party, ''The Communist,'' was "expected" to be provided by the party's South Slavic Federation Language Bureau beginning in the second half of 1921."Language Federations,"
''Official Bulletin of the Communist Party of America (Section of the Communist International), No. 2 (circa Aug. 15, 1921), pg. 6.
* '' Radnik'' (The Worker) (July 1922 – September 1935) — In 1922 a split erupted in the South Slavic Federation of the Socialist Labor Party of America, with Communist dissidents leaving that organization and its newspaper, ''Znanje,'' to join the new "legal" Workers Party of America. The group established their own publication, ''Radnik,'' publishing it as a weekly in Chicago.Čizmić, "Yugoslavians," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 2, pp. 427-428. The paper later went to daily status before returning to a weekly publication cycle. In 1923, the publication's first editors were replaced by Leo Fisher.
** '' Glas Radnika'' (Workers' Voice) (September 1935 – 1936) — Chicago weekly which continued ''Radnik'' following the reorganization of the South Slavic section of the Communist Party USA and the establishment of an explicitly Croatian section in 1935.
** '' Radnički Glasnik'' (Workers' Herald) (September 1936 – December 1940) — After the conclusion of the 1st Conference of Croatian Communists in Chicago in May 1936, ''Glas Radnika'' was made the official organ of the Croatian Section of the CPUSA and the name was changed to ''Radnički Glasnik.'' The paper continued to be published in Chicago on a weekly basis, with F. Borić at the editorial helm.
** '' Narodni Glasnik'' (People's Herald) (December 1940 – August 1973) — In December 1940, ''Radnički Glasnik'' changed its name, although its basic political line remained unaltered. During World War II the renamed paper supported the American war effort at home and Josip Broz Tito in Yugoslavia, although when push came to shove following the Stalin-Tito break of 1948, the ''Narodni Glasnik'' sided with the Soviet Union rather than with the national communist Yugoslav regime headed by the Croatian Tito. Following the rapprochement between the two countries in the Khrushchev period, the paper softened its critique of communist Yugoslavia accordingly. Editor of the paper was F. Borić, later succeeded by Leo Fisher, who remained in charge until the end of the publication in the summer of 1973.
* '' Narodni Zajedničar'' (People's Fraternalist) (1939) — Short-lived Pittsburgh publication launched by Croatian communists who were members of the Croatian Fraternal Union, which had been publishing ''Zajedničar''. No surviving copies known to exist.

Czech

* '' Obrana'' (Defense) (November 1910 – 1938) — Weekly newspaper launched in New York City by the Czech Socialist Section of the Central Labor Union. The publication moved to the left after the 1917 Russian Revolution and sided with the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party during the factional war of 1919 which resulted in the formation of the American communist movement.František Bielek, "Czechs," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 2, pp. 250-251. The paper was produced in the interim by the "Independent Czechoslovak Marxist Federation," with this group later joining the Communist Party. In 1924 ''Obrana'' proclaimed itself the official publication of the Czechoslovak Section of the Workers Party of America. Circulation as of that date was approximately 4,000 copies. The paper moved from weekly to daily status in 1934. Publication was terminated in 1938.

Danish

* '' Fremad'' (Forward) (1935) — In February 1935, the Scandinavian Educational Publishing Company in New York City, publisher of the ''Ny Tid Norwegian-Danish Edition,'' decided to make that an exclusively Norwegian paper. A Danish-language monthly called ''Fremad'' was launched for the Danish readers effected by the decision to move to linguistic homogeneity. The Danish paper was apparently terminated after only a few months; no copies are known to have survived.Jens Bjerre Danielsen, "Danes," in Dirk Hoerder with Christiane Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s: Volume 1: Migrants from Southern and Western Europe.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987; pg. 131.

Estonian

* '' Uus Ilm'' (New World) (January 1909-1980s?) — ''Uus Ilm,'' one of the longest-running radical publications in the United States, was launched as a weekly in New York city by the Central Committee of the American-Estonian Socialist Association.Dirk Hoerder, "Estonians," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 2, pp. 222-223. The paper moved to the left after the 1917 Russian Revolution and was the organ of Estonian-speaking communists in America from the 1920s.

Finnish

* ''Työmies'' (The Worker) (July 1903 – August 1950) — The granddaddy of the Finnish-American radical press was ''Työmies,'' established in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1903 as ''Amerikan Suomalainen Työmies'' (The Finnish-American Worker). In June 1904 the publication was moved to the small town of Hancock, located in the sparsely populated Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The paper remained in that location for a decade before moving to the comparative metropolis of Superior, Wisconsin, a virtual twin city of Duluth, Minnesota. From its earliest days, ''Työmies'' was a Marxist publication, significantly more radical than its East Coast counterpart established in January 1905, ''Raivaaja'' (The Pioneer).Auvo Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pp. 234-235. The paper briefly published an English-language paper called ''Wage Slave,'' and was the source of a number of annual magazines in the Finnish language. During its Communist Party phase, which began in about 1920, the circulation of the daily fluctuated in the range of 13,000 to 15,000 copies, declining to around 5,000 in 1950, at which time it was consolidated with the CPUSA's East Coast Finnish-language newspaper, ''Eteenpäin,'' to form ''Työmies-Eteenpäin'' (see below).
* '' Toveri'' (The Comrade) (December 1907 – February 1931) — ''Toveri'' hailed from the isolated coastal town of Astoria, Oregon, one of two major radical publications produced there by the tightly knit community of "Red Finns" there. The decision of the Finnish Socialist Federation to divide the itself into three districts gave impetus to Finnish-American socialists to launch a newspaper of their own to serve as the voice of the Federation's Western District. In June 1907 a referendum of the Finnish Socialist locals of the West decided to establish a paper for the district and a temporary board of directors was established in Astoria.Paul George Hummasti, Finnish Radicals in Astoria, Oregon, 1904-1940: A Study in Immigrant Socialism. New York: Arno Press, 1979; pg. 40. The venture was capitalized in July through the offer of $5,000 worth of stock at $10 a share. When half of this amount was sold by October, the new holding company, the Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company, was cleared to begin operations. The first issue of the new paper, named '' Toveri'' ("The Comrade") appeared on December 7, 1907, under the editorship of Aku Rissanen, formerly on the editorial staff of the Massachusetts Finnish-language socialist newspaper, ''Raivaaja.'' Although planned as a bi-weekly, the paper was impacted by an emerging economic crisis and appeared only irregularly during its first year.Hummasti, ''Finnish Radicals in Astoria, Oregon, 1904-1940,'' pg. 42. The paper moved to daily status in 1912. In 1920, the paper's editorial line moved from the Socialist Party camp to a position favoring revolutionary socialism, and the paper soon evolved into a Communist Party organ, which it followed up to its demise.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pp. 231-232. ''Toveri'' generally consisted of six pages and included sections for farmers and women, as well as material in English, and it was supported by local advertisers. The printing presses of ''Toveri'' were shipped to Soviet Karelia following the paper's closure in 1931.
* '' Toveritar'' (The Woman Comrade) (July 1911 – September 1930) — In 1911 the Western District convention of the Finnish Socialist Federation reversed its previous policy and urged its locals to form special women's committees and branches for their female members, with a view to increasing the party's influence among women, who were beginning to gain the right to vote throughout the West. In Astoria this took the form of the establishment of a sewing club, designed for both social and fundraising purposes, and the foundation of a special weekly newspaper for socialist women, ''Toveritar'' ("The Woman Comrade").Hummasti, ''Finnish Radicals in Astoria, Oregon, 1904-1940,'' pg. 50. ''Toveritar'' was launched as a weekly in July 1911 and it continued as such until 1930, when the publication was terminated. In addition to news of the socialist movement, ''Toveritar'' included household hints, a section dedicated to the youth movement, poetry, and serialized literature (both original work and material in translation). This broad array of content proved to be very successful in attracting readers even from outside the organized radical political movement, as there were few other Finnish-language American publications targeted to women.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pp. 232-233. The paper was terminated at the end of September 1930 in favor of a new women's publication launched under the auspices of ''Työmies'' in Superior, Wisconsin.
** '' Työlaïsnainen'' (The Working Woman) (October 1930 – February 1936) — With the termination of ''Toveritar,'' a new weekly communist newspaper for women was launched. ''Työlaïsnainen'' published national and local news and included articles on matters which impacted women's lives. The paper typically ran to 12 pages, with additional supplements produced for International Women's Day, May Day, and Mother's Day. In 1931 the paper was moved to New York and made part of the CPUSA's ''Eteenpäin'' editorial office. In February 1936, the paper was succeeded by ''Naisten Viiri.''
** '' Naisten Viiri'' (The Woman's Banner) (February 1936 – 1978) — ''Naisten Viiri'' was the final installment in the series of Finnish-language Communist publications targeted to women, continuing in the path established by ''Toveritar'' in 1911 and continued by ''Työlaïsnainen'' in 1930. ''Naisten Viiri'' was actually the longest running publication of the three, a 12-page weekly that continued to fulfill its role for more than four decades from the time of its launch in 1936. The publication attempted to address itself to a broad cross-section of Finnish-American women by mixing ideological material with general interest material and included news emphasizing themes of importance to women, articles on home economics, short stories, and poetry.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pp. 221-222. The paper was launched in Yonkers, New York by ''Eteenpäin'' and moved to Superior, Wisconsin with that publication when it was merged with ''Työmies,'' its circulation gradually dwindling over time as the generations of Finnish-Americans fluent in the national tongue died out.
* '' Lapatossu'' (The Shoepack) (1911-April 1921) — Perhaps the best known of the Finnish-language radical humor publications, ''Lapatossu'' was launched in the fall of 1911 in Hancock, Michigan by Työmies Publishing Co.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pp. 218-219. Initially part of the Socialist Party of America's political orbit, the publication gradually radicalized to a communist position along with the bulk of the Finnish Socialist Federation. The magazine appeared twice a month, usually 12 pages in size, and featured the art of T.K. Sallinen and K.A. Suvanto — the latter being the publication's first editor in 1911 and returning to edit the magazine from 1916 to its termination in 1921.
** '' Punikki'' (The Red) (May 1921 – March 1936) — In a move which coincided chronologically with the launch of the Finnish-language communist newspaper ''Eteenpäin,'' K.A. Suvanto's radical humor magazine ''Lapatossu'' was rebranded ''Punikki,'' "The Red" in May 1921. The size and frequency of the publication remained the same, generally consisting of 12 pages of drawings, stories, and jokes issuing forth from ''Työmies'' editorial offices in Superior, Wisconsin.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pg. 225. In 1931 the publication was moved to New York state and published under the auspices of the Communist Party's other Finnish-language newspaper, ''Eteenpäin.'' ''Punikki'' was widely circulated, with its press run moving from just over 10,000 copies at the time of its launch to about 15,000 from 1930 onward.
** '' Kansan Huumori'' (People's Humor) (March 1936 – August 1938) — Final permutation of the Finnish-American red humor magazines, edited during its first year by cartoonist K.A. Suvanto.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pg. 216. The magazine marked a move back to Superior, Wisconsin, where it was published by ''Työmies.'' Issues generally consisted of 16 pages of stories, poems, jokes, and political cartoons.
* '' Eteenpäin'' (Forward) (May 1921 – August 1950) — Finnish-language newspaper established in 1921 when the Finnish Federation's Eastern District newspaper, ''Raivaaja'' (The Pioneer) aligned itself with a reorganized Finnish Socialist Federation attached to the Socialist Party of America.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pg. 214. Originally published in New York City, ''Eteenpäin'' moved to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1922. The paper's editors over the years included some of the key figures of the Finnish-American communist movement, such as Elis Sulkanen, K.E. Heikkinen, and Henry Puro. ''Eteenpäin'' was merged with ''Työmies'' (The Worker) of Superior, Wisconsin in 1950 as a cost-cutting measure to form ''Työmies-Eteenpäin''.
* '' The Communist'' (1921) — According to ''Official Bulletin No. 2'' of the unified Communist Party of America, a Finnish-language edition of the official organ of the party, ''The Communist,'' was "expected" to be provided by the party's Finnish Federation Language Bureau beginning in the second half of 1921.
* '' Uusi Kotimaa'' (The New Homeland) (1923-December 1934) — In 1923 Finnish-Americans in the Communist Party purchased the old Minnesota newspaper, ''Uusi Kotimaa,'' a paper which was established in 1880.Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pg. 238. Previously conservative, the orientation of the New York Mills, Minnesota newspaper was changed to a radical farmer-labor publication following the Communist Party's line, edited by leading Finnish-American communist K.E. Heikkinen. With the demise of the farmer-labor party strategy, ''Uusi Kotimaa'' began to be oriented more towards industrial workers, although generally one page of content was directed towards farmers. The paper appeared three times weekly until 1932, when it was cut back to a weekly publication cycle. In 1931 the paper was moved to Superior, Wisconsin, where it was published directly by the Työmies Publishing Co. until the paper's demise at the end of 1934. An excellent run of the paper exists for the Superior period on three reels of microfilm available from the Wisconsin Historical Society.
* '' Viesti'' (The Message) (January 1930 – January 1937) — Finnish-language Marxist theoretical magazine, closely connected to the newspaper ''Eteenpäin.''Kostiainen, "Finns," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 1, pg. 243. The paper was launched in Worcester, Massachusetts and later moved to Brooklyn and was edited by Aku Päiviö and later M. Wiitala.
* '' Työmies-Eteenpäin'' (The Worker-Forward) (August 1950 – 1995). The joint Finnish-language communist newspaper ''Työmies-Eteenpäin'' was established as a cost-cutting measure in 1950 and was published in Superior, Wisconsin through the offices of ''Työmies.'' A daily newspaper at its launch, circulation began at the 4,000 copy mark and declined over the course of its existence, falling to less than half that level in the 1970s. The paper continued through 1995, when it was replaced by the English-language publication, ''The Finnish-American Reporter.''

German

* ''New Yorker Volkszeitung'' (New York People's News) (January 1878-October 1932; Communist-line 1919-1925) — Independently owned German-language left wing daily published in New York City. ''The Volkszeitung'' began as a publication owing allegiance to the fledgling Socialist Labor Party of America and was a major player in the party splits of 1889 and 1899. In the latter conflict, the dissident faction backed by the ''Volkszeitung,'' headed by Henry Slobodin and Morris Hillquit, was defeated by loyalists to party editor Daniel DeLeon, and the ''Volkszeitung'' thus followed the group's circuitous path into the Socialist Party of America (SPA) in 1901. For nearly two decades, the ''Volkszeitung'' remained loyal to the SPA, until the 1919 party split of that organization, which led to the establishment of the American Communist parties. ''Volkszeitung'' editor-in-chief Ludwig Lore was a founding member of the Communist Labor Party of America in 1919 and continued in the highest councils of the party until being expelled in 1925 for "Loreism," proclaimed by Lore's enemies during the bitter factional war which swept the Communist Party in this period to be an indigenous form of Trotskyism. Despite his expulsion, Lore remained at the helm of the ''Volkszeitung,'' charting an independent radical course for the paper until his departure in 1931. In 1931 the paper was reorganized with a new editor and it formally endorsed the Socialist Party of America once again.Anne Spier, "German-Speaking Peoples," in Dirk Hoerder with Christiane Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s: An Annotated Bibliography: Volume 3: Migrants from Southern and Western Europe.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987; pp. 447-449. The paper was terminated in the fall of 1932 due to financial difficulties.
* '' The Communist'' (1921) — According to ''Official Bulletin No. 2'' of the unified Communist Party of America, a German-language edition of the official organ of the party, ''The Communist,'' was "expected" to be provided by the party's German Federation Language Bureau beginning in the second half of 1921.
* '' Der Arbeiter'' (The Worker) (September 1927 – February 1937) — ''Der Arbeiter'' was the official German-language organ of the Communist Party, published in New York City by the German Language Bureau of the Workers (Communist) Party.Spier, "German-Speaking Peoples," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 3, pp. 360-361. The paper began as a monthly, was made a biweekly in April 1928, and went to a weekly publication cycle effective the first day 1930. Publication size also varied over the years, ranging from 2 pages at the launch to as many as 8 pages, with 4 pages being the norm after 1930. The best run of the paper in the United States exists at the New York Public Library, which holds master negative microfilm of the broken run in their collection. The paper was replaced; by ''Deutsches Volksecho'' in 1937.
** '' Deutsches Volksecho'' (German People's Echo) (February 1937 – September 1939) — Official German-language weekly of the CPUSA, continuing ''Der Arbeiter'' without interruption or change of the publication's volume numbering pattern.Spier, "German-Speaking Peoples," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 3, pp. 404-405. The editor of the paper for its entire duration was Stefan Heym. The ''Deutsches Volksecho'' published material on the Communist Party's People's Front policy, news from Nazi Germany, and reports on the international anti-fascist movement and contained a women's column, meeting dates of German cultural and political organizations, and advertisements. The paper was abruptly terminated on September 16, 1939, less than a month after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and barely more than 2 weeks after the September 1 Nazi invasion of Poland which began World War II.
* '' Die Stimme'' (The Voice) (June–August? 1933) — Short-lived monthly bulletin of the Philadelphia branch of the Association of Proletarian Freethinkers, American section of the International Proletarian Freethinkers organization based in Basle, Switzerland. Intended as a monthly, only a few numbers seem to have been produced.
* '' Deutsch-Amerikanisches Arbeiterklub Mitteilungsblatt'' (Newsletter of the German-American Workers' Clubs) (May 1934 – 1938?) — Organ of the Federation of German-American Workers' Clubs, published irregularly in New York City.Spier, "German-Speaking Peoples," in Hoerder with Harzig (eds.), ''The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s,'' vol. 3, pg. 397. The newsletter announced the affairs of its member clubs in such cities as New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Newark, New Jersey