Russia. No. 1 (1919). A Collection of Reports on Bolshevism in Russia, Presented to Parliament by Command of His Majesty. April 1919 [with] A Collection of Reports on Bolshevism in Russia. Abridged Edition of Parliamentary Paper, Russia No. 1 (1919)

London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1919. A scarce copy of the unexpurgated first edition of A Collection of Reports on Bolshevism in Russia, along with the abridged version that superseded it. Compiled at the request of the British War Cabinet, the document compiled eyewitness accounts from British subjects living in Russia and from “independent witnesses of various nationalities” of the “principles and methods of Bolshevik rule, the appalling incidents by which it has been accompanied, the economic consequences which have flowed from it, and the almost incalculable misery which it has produced.” The original document included a number of passages remarking on the Jewish composition of the Bolsheviks and their role in the death of the Tsar and his family, which were quickly excised by the government who withdrew the original edition and replaced it with a smaller format, cheaper, abridged edition. The most controversial - and oft-reprinted - statement was made by Willem Oudendijk, the Dutch Minister at St. Petersburg, who wrote:

“I consider that the immediate suppression of Bolshevism is the greatest issue now before the world, not even excluding the war which is still raging, and unless as above stated, Bolshevism is nipped in the bud immediately, it is bound to spread, in one form or another, over Europe and the whole world, as it is organised and worked by Jews, who have no nationality, and whose one object is to destroy for their own ends the existing order of things” (p. 6; from a telegraph from Sir Mansfeldt Findlay to British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour on September 17, 1918).

Throughout the 20th century, British and American anti-Semites such Rev. Fahey, Father Charles Coughlin, Gerald L. K. Smith, Annie Homer, and others would cite Oudendijk’s statement, which they distributed widely, and its suppression as evidence that Jewish Bolshevism or Jewish Communism was a paramount threat and that the British government’s censorship of its own publication indicated the influence of powerful Jewish interests. Included in this remarkable grouping are:

[Cmd. 8]. Russia No. 1 (1919). A Collection of Reports on Bolshevism in Russia. Presented to Parlaiment by Command of His Majesty. April 1919. London: Published By His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1919. Side-stapled leaves (13” x 8 ¼”), vi, 88 p. Cover and rear leaf are detached from staples, both have evidence of dampstaining; ‘July 1919’ penned to the top edge of the cover leaf. A good, complete copy.

A Collection of Reports on Bolshevism in Russia. Abridged Edition of Parliamentary Paper, Russia No. 1 (1919). London: Published By His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1919. Side-stapled leaves (9 ¼” x 6”), vi, 109 p. Front cover detached and dampstained, date penned to the top corner; dampstaining evident to the top half of the first and last couple of leaves. A good, complete copy.

A photostat leaf reprinting the cover page of the original edition and Oudendijk’s statement on Jewish Bolshevism to the two interior pages. The final page blank. Likely distributed by Father Coughlin as this copy was found in a Coughlin pamphlet. Item #13441

Price: $2,500.00