Bund project drawings
The socialist and anti-Zionist Bund movement, founded in the late 19th century, has been a decades-long interest for Freda Guttman. These drawings are selected from many that she made about the Bund over a period of several years. Her longtime friend Nell Tenhaaf (they met in the early days of the Montreal feminist gallery Powerhouse) worked with Freda to format the drawings into thematic videos, with Freda’s narration.
Thanks to Rebecca Bain, Daniel Kunda Thagard, and Quinn.
The Bund, the General Union of Jewish Workers in Lithuania,
Poland and Russia, was a workers’ party that for a time became
the largest and most influential revolutionary organization
striving to overthrow the Czarist regime. It developed a socialist
alternative to Zionism while fighting against antisemitic
oppression. The neglected history of their movement is a vital
source of inspiration for our own time, not only for Jews. It is a
history that has been overshadowed by the ‘victory’ of Zionism
and the ultra nationalism of the Israeli state.
The Bund is an abbreviation of Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter
Bund in Lite, Polyn un Rusland; General Jewish Workers’ Union
in Lithuania, Poland and Russia.
The seven videos, completed in 2025, can be viewed in any order.