Victor Alter

Victor Alter (also Wiktor Alter; 7 February 1890 – 17 February 1943) was a Polish Jewish socialist activist and Bund publicist, and a member of the executive committee of the Second International.

Life

Alter studied in Belgium, at the University of Ghent where he received a degree in mechanical engineering in 1912. Afterward he returned to Warsaw. In April 1913 he was arrested by Tsarist authorities for his activism for the Bund and was exiled to Siberia. In October 1941, Alter, together with Henrik Erlich were placed by the Soviet authorities in a hotel in Kuibishev. During private conversations, which were taped and reported to Joseph Stalin, the two discussed the rumors about the murder of Polish officers, including many Polish Jews, at Katyn. provoked an international outcry. The commemoration ceremony was attended by over three thousand people.

Publications

Victor Alter published several books, including:

Antysemityzm gospodarczy w świetle cyfr (Economic Antisemitism in numbers) (1937) Gdy socjaliści dojdą do władzy ...! (When Socialists come to power...!) (1934) Socjalizm walczący (Fighting Socialism) (1926)

He also published numerous articles in the socialist press.