A Shtetl Is Starving to Death

Not far from Lódz is a small town called Brzezhin. It has been a town of tailors from the beginning of time. When it was under Russian rule, Brzezhin was a center for manufacturing cheap clothes for the Russian market, especially for the Don Basin. After the establishment of independent Poland, production shrank in Brzezhin, but there was still work. Wages have always been very low there. The tailors of Brzezhin had to get used to the sweating system, but there was still enough work. Then came the crisis, and the tailors of Brzezhin could feel it just like everyone else in Poland. Work began to vanish slowly and working conditions worsened even more.

But then two years went by, and a miracle happened. In the middle of the crisis, when production was continuously decreasing everywhere, Brzezhin suddenly started to bloom. Production began to grow, and so did the number of employed workers. What happened? The answer is that Brzezhin started to work for the world market, for England and Belgium. The shrewd entrepreneurs of Brzezhin came to an agreement with the government and managed to get subsidies—“in the interests of the national production of Poland,” of course. With these subsidies they shamelessly engaged in swindle. The subsidies were so high that the entrepreneurs could afford to sell the products abroad for a ridiculously low price, charging less for a man’s suit in England and Belgium than the amount of state subsidy they got on each suit!

The Brzezhin entrepreneurs struck gold. Since there was a crisis, poverty and unemployment were on the rise in the entire Brzezhin region, and the entrepreneurs took advantage of the situation. Wages were very low, the working day very long, and working conditions in general were terrible.

That’s how it was for some time. Brzezhin was working feverishly. After a while, however, the government realized that the Brzezhin entrepreneurs were swindling them, simply stealing from them. But they did not punish the entrepreneurs for this, God forbid. After all, swindle and theft are normal features of the capitalistic economy. They just reduced the amount of the subsidies. Thus, the great fortune of Brzezhin was suddenly over. If they cannot make lots of money fast, it is not worthwhile for the entrepreneurs to conduct business at all. Production began to decrease and unemployment started to grow again. Needless to say, working conditions also deteriorated even more.

And here lies in front of us a letter from Brzezhin, a desperate call for help, a terrible outcry of starving, suffering people. Seven hundred workers and one hundred small-scale pieceworkers [khalupnikes], along with their families, are literally fighting against starving to death. They have been in this horrifying situation for a year now, but in the last six months things have become even worse than they were during the war years. In addition, they were struck by a terrible influenza epidemic that was especially harsh among the starving population. Seeing a doctor or receiving medical care is beyond anyone’s wildest dream.

The anguished workers are grinding their teeth as they watch the entrepreneurs, who acquired their riches here in the good years, now run from Brzezhin like rats. The desperate working-class population has been expecting help from the government—in vain, of course. There was no shortage of money for giving subsidies to the entrepreneurs, but for hungry workers and domestic manufacturers there are no funds, of course.

An entire town is about to starve to death. Moreover, Brzezhin is not the only town that is about to starve to death. And no one cares.