Forṿerṭs: Zonṭags oysgabe (“Kapitalizmus,” May 2, 1897)

Forṿerṭs: Zonṭags oysgabe (Forverts: the Sunday Edition) (cartoon “Kapitalizmus,” Vol. 1, No. 1, May 2, 1897) 

New York: Forṿerṭs, 1897

This politically conscious cartoon is the earliest known illustration ever reproduced in the Yiddish Forṿerṭs. Published on May 2, 1897, immediately following International Workers’ Day on May 1, it occupied an entire page in the inaugural issue of the newspaper’s Sunday edition. It undoubtedly served as an open manifestation of Forṿerṭs’s socialist platform, standing up for the rights of laborers, many of whom were recent immigrants, struggling to make a living in the sweatshops.

The cartoon depicts capitalism (Kapitalizmus) as a fortress, already displaying the first cracks of imminent collapse. At the top of the fortress are the angry exploiters shaking their fists, while on the ground and within the fortress’s entrance, a crowd of impoverished and weary people plead for help, a woman and a child among them. Two triumphant figures of women reminiscent of classic Greek statues symbolize a call for action and hope. The female figure on the left, bearing the name “Forṿerṭs,” holds a banner demanding “eight-hour workday,” as the capitalists try to push the banner away. The other female figure, expressing solidarity with the “Forṿerṭs,” is named “Social Democracy.” She stands next to the struggling workers while pointing toward the exploiters as the main cause of the people’s suffering.