Lazar Bach

Lazar Bach (1906 – 10 March 1941) was a Latvian communist activist, most notable for his time as chair of the Communist Party of South Africa.

Early life and career

Born in Latvia to a Jewish family,^[1] Bach's father owned a factory, and was sentenced to death during the Russian Civil War. Bach joined the Latvian Communist Party and became an expert on party policy. In 1930, he emigrated to Johannesburg where he became a leather worker, joining the Leather Workers' Union, and the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). As a fluent Russian-speaker with a strong knowledge of communism, Bach soon became prominent in the party, and was elected to its central committee in 1931.^[2]^[3] A firm supporter of party leader Douglas Wolton, Bach became known as his second-in-command.^[2]

Political rise

By 1933, party membership had fallen to only 150, and Wolton moved to England, leaving Bach to become chair of the party, its leading figure. Under his leadership, he maintained Wolton's loyalty to the current line of the Soviet Union, and readily expelled opponents, including Moses Kotane, although he was soon readmitted.^[1] However, the Comintern became unhappy with the party's leadership, and asked many leading figures in the party to go to Moscow to discuss their performance. Most of them feared that they would be detained there, and were reluctant to go, with Louis Joffe explicitly warning Bach not to go.^[3]

Despite the warning, Bach went to Moscow in 1935 along with Kotane. George Hardy was sent from the Communist Party of Great Britain to try to resolve conflict between the factions supporting each of the rivals, but was unable to make progress. In response, Maurice and Paul Richter, supporters of Bach, were also called to Moscow, while Kotane received support in the city from Josie Mpama, a party member who was studying at the Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV).^[3] Bach also attended KUTV while in the city.^[4]

Bach aún se encontraba en la ciudad al año siguiente, cuando se celebró el Séptimo Congreso de la Comintern . Asistió al congreso como delegado consultivo, mientras que Mpama era el delegado de pleno derecho del CPSA. Mpama pronunció un discurso en el que insinuaba que la estrategia del frente popular , recientemente impulsada por la Comintern, debía ser simplemente el medio para lograr una república independiente liderada por sudafricanos negros. La dirección de la Comintern se mostró muy disgustada con el contenido del discurso, que creían que había sido escrito por Bach y Aleksandr Zusmanovich. ^{[ 4 ]}

Detención y muerte

Bach, junto con los Richter, fue acusado de ser trotskista o zinovivista , cargos presentados con vehemencia por Robert Naumann. Se les exigió permanecer en Moscú mientras se investigaba la acusación, y el 28 de octubre de 1936 fueron declarados culpables por la Comisión Internacional de Control de la Comintern. Fueron detenidos el 10 de marzo de 1937 y enviados a gulags en el río Kolyma . Si bien los Richter fueron ejecutados posteriormente por cargos de terrorismo, se informó que Bach murió de causas naturales en 1941. ^{[ 4 ]}

Referencias

1 2 Busky, Donald F. (2002). El comunismo en la historia y la teoría: Asia, África y América . Greenwood Publishing Group. pág. 136. ISBN 978-0-275-97733-7.
1 2 Drew, Allison (2015). Entre el imperio y la revolución: Una vida de Sidney Bunting, 1873-1936 . Taylor & Francis. pág. 181. ISBN 978-1-317-31509-4.
1 2 3 Roth, Mia (2016). El Partido Comunista en Sudáfrica: racismo, eurocentrismo y Moscú, 1921-1950 . Partridge Africa. pág. 127. ISBN 978-1-4828-0964-0.
1 2 3 Davidson, Apollon B.; Filatova, Irina; Gorodnov, Valentin P.; Johns, Sheridan (2015). Sudáfrica y la Internacional Comunista: Volumen 1: De peregrinos socialistas a soldados de a pie bolcheviques, 1919-1930 . Taylor & Francis. págs. 18–20 . ISBN 978-1-135-28973-7.

[busky-1] 1 2 Busky, Donald F. (2002). El comunismo en la historia y la teoría: Asia, África y América . Greenwood Publishing Group. pág. 136. ISBN 978-0-275-97733-7.

[drew-2] 1 2 Drew, Allison (2015). Entre el imperio y la revolución: Una vida de Sidney Bunting, 1873-1936 . Taylor & Francis. pág. 181. ISBN 978-1-317-31509-4.

[roth-3] 1 2 3 Roth, Mia (2016). El Partido Comunista en Sudáfrica: racismo, eurocentrismo y Moscú, 1921-1950 . Partridge Africa. pág. 127. ISBN 978-1-4828-0964-0.

[davidson-4] 1 2 3 Davidson, Apollon B.; Filatova, Irina; Gorodnov, Valentin P.; Johns, Sheridan (2015). Sudáfrica y la Internacional Comunista: Volumen 1: De peregrinos socialistas a soldados de a pie bolcheviques, 1919-1930 . Taylor & Francis. págs. 18–20 . ISBN 978-1-135-28973-7.

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