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Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund
Not yet published
Expected 7 Apr 26An award-winning writer and illustrator follows the story of her grandfather’s involvement in a freewheeling group of Jewish revolutionaries to question whether the world was ready for their vision of multiracial solidarity—and whether we are today.
Molly Crabapple first discovered the story of the Jewish Bund when her mother showed her a trove of her grandfather's old paintings and letters. Sam Rothman was a rough-and-tumble kid who worked at a tannery deep in the Pale of Settlement in 19th century Russia. He discovered that he was an artist--a brilliant interpreter of life in his Jewish village--and soon after that he was a revolutionary, enlisted in the strikes, street fights, and study groups of the Jewish Bund.
Molly saw herself not just in his career but in his revolutionary inclinations--Molly spent much of her life in revolutionary enclaves around the world, marching in the streets and dancing till morning. In the Bund, she discovered a movement of artists, philosophers, working people, and street fighters who had a utopian vision for the world. As Jews--a people always on the margins--they understood themselves as a people who needed special protection. But as Marxist revolutionaries, they also saw themselves as part of an international solidarity that rejected all forms of ethnonationalism. They fought for this vision in the parlors, cafes, battlefields and prison camps. Their ideas sparked the Russian Revolution, which soon swept them aside. They fought with the emerging nationalist movements sweeping Europe. And they battled Zionists over the destiny of the Jewish people, believing that Jews could never find peace by becoming colonizers themselves. Their last stand was against the Nazis--they led the largest Jewish resistance movement, culminating in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a dramatic and tragic climax to their story.
In retelling the history of the Bund and its extraordinary cast of characters during one of the most politically and culturally vibrant moments in European history, Molly is also exploring her own revolutionary life. Her narration is tinged with an almost desperate need to understand whether the Bund failed because their idea was unworkable--or if the world failed the Bund, whose movement could've saved us from the violence of Russian Communism, Nazism, and Zionism. This dynamic, tragic story, is driven by that urgent question--and offers a new lens through which to see our contemporary struggles for solidarity in the face of tribalism.
Molly Crabapple first discovered the story of the Jewish Bund when her mother showed her a trove of her grandfather's old paintings and letters. Sam Rothman was a rough-and-tumble kid who worked at a tannery deep in the Pale of Settlement in 19th century Russia. He discovered that he was an artist--a brilliant interpreter of life in his Jewish village--and soon after that he was a revolutionary, enlisted in the strikes, street fights, and study groups of the Jewish Bund.
Molly saw herself not just in his career but in his revolutionary inclinations--Molly spent much of her life in revolutionary enclaves around the world, marching in the streets and dancing till morning. In the Bund, she discovered a movement of artists, philosophers, working people, and street fighters who had a utopian vision for the world. As Jews--a people always on the margins--they understood themselves as a people who needed special protection. But as Marxist revolutionaries, they also saw themselves as part of an international solidarity that rejected all forms of ethnonationalism. They fought for this vision in the parlors, cafes, battlefields and prison camps. Their ideas sparked the Russian Revolution, which soon swept them aside. They fought with the emerging nationalist movements sweeping Europe. And they battled Zionists over the destiny of the Jewish people, believing that Jews could never find peace by becoming colonizers themselves. Their last stand was against the Nazis--they led the largest Jewish resistance movement, culminating in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a dramatic and tragic climax to their story.
In retelling the history of the Bund and its extraordinary cast of characters during one of the most politically and culturally vibrant moments in European history, Molly is also exploring her own revolutionary life. Her narration is tinged with an almost desperate need to understand whether the Bund failed because their idea was unworkable--or if the world failed the Bund, whose movement could've saved us from the violence of Russian Communism, Nazism, and Zionism. This dynamic, tragic story, is driven by that urgent question--and offers a new lens through which to see our contemporary struggles for solidarity in the face of tribalism.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
480 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication April 7, 2026
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About the author
Molly Crabapple
48 books235 followersMolly Crabapple is an artist and writer. She is a contributing editor for Vice and has written for the New York Times, the Paris Review, and the Guardian, among other publications. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. She lives in New York City.
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Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Although not well known today, the Jewish Bund was a fascinating organisation at the intersection of Jewish identity and Socialist ideology. They proudly stood up for their Jewish identity instead of subsuming it into larger socialist groups and clashed with Zionists who argued Jews could never be at home in Europe. As the title says, Russia and Poland was their home, not Israel. This book gives a good insight into this often forgotten part of Eastern European history.
It's worth noting that the author is a journalist, not a historian, so this is reflected in the style of the book. This is more of a collection of profiles of major figures in the Bund rather than a historical analysis. This has the advantage of bringing the characters to life and avoids the pitfalls of many dry academic texts, but the disadvantage is the lack of wider historical context. I felt I learned more about certain individuals than I did about the Bund as an organisation.
The author also frequently referenced their own family history but at times I found this excessive. Again some people might like how this puts a human face on a member of the Bund, but stories about family relatives are always much more interesting to members of the family than to everyone else.
The writing was a little clunky at times and the author used a lot of modern Americanisms which felt out of place (police were "cops", sex was "fucking"). One person's collar is described as "white as cocaine." (!?) The book was weak on explaining the context of the time, for example the book mentions the aftermath of the Polish-Soviet war but forgets to tell readers when the war began. There is a discussion about trying to get onto the Warsaw kehillah without explaining what a kehillah is. There are some historical errors like claiming Kerensky was involved in Kornilov's coup (he was the one who crushed it) or that 1931 Germany was a time of inflation (it was a time of deflation) but not mentioning it was a time of unemployment.
Although not well known today, the Jewish Bund was a fascinating organisation at the intersection of Jewish identity and Socialist ideology. They proudly stood up for their Jewish identity instead of subsuming it into larger socialist groups and clashed with Zionists who argued Jews could never be at home in Europe. As the title says, Russia and Poland was their home, not Israel. This book gives a good insight into this often forgotten part of Eastern European history.
It's worth noting that the author is a journalist, not a historian, so this is reflected in the style of the book. This is more of a collection of profiles of major figures in the Bund rather than a historical analysis. This has the advantage of bringing the characters to life and avoids the pitfalls of many dry academic texts, but the disadvantage is the lack of wider historical context. I felt I learned more about certain individuals than I did about the Bund as an organisation.
The author also frequently referenced their own family history but at times I found this excessive. Again some people might like how this puts a human face on a member of the Bund, but stories about family relatives are always much more interesting to members of the family than to everyone else.
The writing was a little clunky at times and the author used a lot of modern Americanisms which felt out of place (police were "cops", sex was "fucking"). One person's collar is described as "white as cocaine." (!?) The book was weak on explaining the context of the time, for example the book mentions the aftermath of the Polish-Soviet war but forgets to tell readers when the war began. There is a discussion about trying to get onto the Warsaw kehillah without explaining what a kehillah is. There are some historical errors like claiming Kerensky was involved in Kornilov's coup (he was the one who crushed it) or that 1931 Germany was a time of inflation (it was a time of deflation) but not mentioning it was a time of unemployment.
Displaying 1 of 1 review