Sara Szweber (; born ''Pesl Katelianska''Jack Lester Jacobs, ''Bundist Counterculture in Interwar Poland'', Syracuse University Press, 2009, pg. 8

) (born circa 1875 in

Brest Litovsk Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

, died 1966 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

)Gertrud Pickhan, "Sara Szweber" in ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia'

was one of the leaders of the Jewish Bund, Bund and a

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, and later in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She was one of the few women that held leadership positions in the Jewish socialist and trade union movements of the late 19th and early 20th century. Sara came from a family that was initially prosperous but became impoverished while she was young. Her parents died during her childhood and she was raised by her aunt. She worked as a dressmaker in a tailor shop which she helped to organize into a union shop. The workshop she organized, where all workers were paid the same wage and worked the same hours, was used as an example of a democratic workplace by the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

writer

Nikolay Chernyshevsky Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky ( – ) was a Russian literary and social critic, journalist, novelist, democrat, and socialist philosopher, often identified as a utopian socialist and leading theoretician of Russian nihilism. He was ...

in his novel '' What Is to Be Done?''. In 1900 Szweber joined the Jewish Labour Bund (The Bund) and became active in its educational activities and meetings. As a result, she was arrested by the Tsarist authorities in 1903. After her release, during the Revolution of 1905 she headed a joint Polish and Jewish workers' demonstration in

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

and for the first time spoke before a large crowd. Afterward she moved to Lublin and then

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

. She was arrested by the Russians again, imprisoned in

Lublin castle The Lublin Castle ( pl, Zamek Lubelski) is a medieval castle in Lublin, Poland, adjacent to the Old Town district and close to the city center. It is one of the oldest preserved royal residencies in Poland, initially established by High Duke Casimi ...

,Nochum Winik, ''The “Bund” in Chelm and its Socialist-Revolutionary Work'', translated by Howard Bergma

and went on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

. Possibly because of the hunger strike, she contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

and was therefore released on bail. She took that opportunity to escape to Galicia where she later met her future husband, Elijahu Szweber, an activist who promoted the use of

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

.Henryk Piasecki, ''Sekcja Żydowska PPSD i Żydowska Partia Socjalno-Demokratyczna, 1892-1919/20'', Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1982, pg. 22

They lived there until the break out of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1918 Sara moved to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

where she worked as a trade union official in the local garment worker's union. Later, together with the Bundist Victor Alter she headed a one hundred thousand strong labor union which joined Polish and Jewish workers, the '' Landrat''. According to Szweber, the activities of the Landrat were hampered by splits within the party which were being organized by Communist party members in the 1920s and '30s. While in Warsaw Szweber became one of the members of Bund's Central Committee. In 1938 she was elected to the

Warsaw City Council Warsaw City Council, officially the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw ( pl, Rada Miasta Stołecznego Warszawy) is a unicameral governing body of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The council was first created following the location of ...

, together with sixteen other Bund members. After the

Nazi invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

, Szweber initially escaped to the east, making her way back to her home town of Brest (which had been occupied by the Soviet Union). However, because she was a notable member of the Bund she was in danger of arrest by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

. She managed to escape the Soviets via

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

, eventually making her way to the

. In New York she once again worked as a dressmaker and remained active in the Bund émigré community. At the age of 90, she took part in Bund's fourth World Congress.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szweber, Sara 1875 births 1966 deaths American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Belarusian Jews Belarusian socialists Bundists Councillors in Warsaw Jewish socialists Jews from the Russian Empire People from Brest, Belarus People from Brestsky Uyezd Polish Jews Polish socialists 20th-century Polish women politicians