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Poland before the September 1939 German invasion had one of the largest and most vibrant Jewish communities in the world. The diaspora only included larger Jewish populations in America and the Soviet Union. Poland was an especially important center of Jewish cultural and religious life, not only because of the size of the Jewish community but because large numbers of Polish Jews, unlike German Jews, Many Polish Jews were not assimilated into wider Polish society. Polish Jews were concentrated in urban areas, including cities and towns. Many city Jews were assimilated in the sence that they cuilturally similar to other Poles, although they did not mix with Christian extensively with Christian Poles, in part because they were not widely accepted. Few Jews lived in the countryside, but there were many Jews living in rural villages--the stetl. Here we find many Jews that were not at all assimilated with Chritian Polish society. As a result, many Polish cities had a strong Jewish influence. The capital Warsaw had a population that was 40 percent Jewish.
The status of Poland's Jews improved after World War I and the end of Tsarist rule. Poland achieved its independence after World War I. The status of Jews was a major issue in the new Polish Republic. Marshal Pilsudski rejected anti-Semitism. There were improvements after the 1926 coup. The military government granted legal status to Jewish communal organizations, the kehilot (1927). The communal groups became the channel by which Jewish institutions and social services were funded. Marshal Pilsudski died (1935). Without his moderating influence, Polish politics and economics became increasingly ethnic-nationalist.
A network of Polish cooperative stores, for example, was establish in Western Galicia so that ethnic rural Poles would not have to deal sith Jewish shopkeepers. The Jews were not the only target of rising Polish nationalism. Another important minority in eastern Poland were the Ukranians. The rise of Fascism in Europe with its ultra-nationalist message did not leave Poland unaffected. The intensified nationalist stridency led toward the the marginalization of Jews. There were political leaders who struggled against this trend, but they were a minority. Government-sponsored anti-Semitism began to take on a more virulent character in the late 1930s. Polish anti-Semitism received significant religious legitimacy from the Roman Catholic Church. This came from the Polish Catholic hierarchy and not just individual priests. Cardinal August Hlond, the newly appointed primate of Poland, issued the Polish Church's prescriptions against Jews in a very widely disseminated pastoral letter (1936).
Poland before the September 1939 German invasion lunvhing World War II and the Holocaust had one of the largest and most vibrant Jewish communities in the world. The diaspora only included larger Jewish populations in America and the Soviet Union. Poland was an especially important center of Jewish cultural and religious life, not only because of the size of the Jewish community but because large numbers of unassimilated Polish Jews.
Unlike German Jews, large numbers of Polish Jews were not assimilated into wider Polish society. Polish Jews were concentrated in urban areas, including cities and towns. This was in part because there were historic restrictions on Jewish land ownership. Many city Jews were assimilated in the sence that they cuilturally similar to other Poles, although they did not mix with Christian extensively with Christian Poles, to a difficult to assesst xtent sid not accpt them. Few Jews lived in the countryside, but there were many Jews living in rural villages--the stetl. Here we find many Jews that were not at all assimilated with Chritian Polish society. As a result, many Polish cities had a strong Jewish influence. The capital Warsaw had a population that was 40 percent Jewish. Here Jews were to a subsyantial degree assimilated.
The legal status of Poland's Jews improved after World War I and the end of Tsarist rule. Poland achieved its independence after World War I. The status of Jews was a major issue in the new Polish Republic. Marshal Pilsudski rejected anti-Semitism. There were improvements after the 1926 coup which ended Polish democracy and established a military dictatorship. The military government granted legal status to Jewish communal organizations, the kehilot (1927). The communal groups became the channel by which Jewish institutions and social services were funded.
The situation for Jews in the new Polish Republic is amatter of some controvery. And we are not entirely sure of the facts.
One observer writes, "... in countries like Poland, anti-Semitic acts were common and it was difficult for Jews to go to high school, let alone college, or work for the government or enter professions.” [Berger] This reqire a little explanation. Primary schools were attended by all children, this would have included all children including Jewish children. Secondary schools were different. Unlike America at the time, secondary schools were highly selective. This was not just the case of Polnd, but the general pattern throughout Europe. The children that continued their education afyer primary school were mostly children from affluent or at least compfortable middle class background. This excluded most unassimilated Jews. The secondary schools wre selective meaning that you had to earn admission through achieving basic academic standards. We are not sure given the nimber of Jews in the professions (law, medical, and acafemic) that you can say that it was difficult for Jews 'to go to high school' meaning secondary schools. By the same token, we also can not say that some Jewish children could not obtain admision to secondary schools because the admission process was not used to exclude them. This is even more the case for university studies.
One source insists, "Actually any Polish citizen in pre-war Poland, despite their religion or culture differences, had the same rights to study and to work." [Okoniewski] Here it should be understood that Jews throughout Europe faced difficulties attending universities. This was done either informally or by restrictive quotas established to limit Jewish attendance. Many American universities had such quotas until after World war II. We do not have details as to the adn\mission policies of Polish universities, but it would not be surprising if such qutas existed. Perhaps readers will know more about this subject. One source comments, "To say that Jews in pre-war Poland had difficulty in going to high school or college is simply a blatant lie. The medical and legal professions were among those where Jewish sounding names were very common. Polish Jews were present in the technical field and in the military (a top ranking admiral with the last name of Kon was in the top command of Polish Navy), and even in the diplomatic service." [Liliental] It is certainly true that there were many Polish Jews with advanced education and technical backgrounds. This does not, however, mean that there were not restrictions on Jews attending scondary schools and universities. There are reports of 'auditorium ghettos' meaning anti-Semites who attemoted to separate Jews from gentiles during classes and lectures. We are not sure how common that was. One source claims, 'Most professors would not endorse or even allow that.' True, there were some racists who tried to form the so-called "auditorium ghettos" to separate Jews from gentiles during classes and lectures. Most professors would not endorse or even allow that.
A common anti-Semetic canard is that Jews avoid military servbice and were not as patriotic as other Poles. It is difficult tp assess the politiocal orientation of unassimilated Jews. It woyld be understandable that unassimilated Jews had little commitment to the Tsarist state before World War I. To what extent this changed with rthe creation of the Polish Republic (1918) we are not sure, but it islikely that they were not as invested in the Polish state as most Poles. Here the same is true of other minorities (Germans, Lithuanians, Ukranians and others). Another factor is Socialism. Soialism and Communism appealed to many assimilated Jews. And as Poland's mortal eneny (until 1939) was the Soviet Union which controlled the Polish Communist Party, this also must have affected nationalist thought. All this said, large numbers of assimilated Polish Jews were ardent Polish patriots. Some 700 Jews (mostly reserve officers, in particular doctors, lawyers and engineers). were among the Polish officers killed by the Soviet NKVD as part of the Katyn Massacres (1940). The number of Jewish abcrestry is unknown.
Marshal Pilsudski died (1935). Without his moderating influence, Polish politics and economics became increasingly ethnic-nationalist. A network of Polish cooperative stores, for example, was establish in Western Galicia so that ethnic rural Poles would not have to deal with Jewish shopkeepers. The Jews were not the only target of rising Polish nationalism. Another important minority in eastern Poland were the Ukranians. The rise of Fascism in Europe with its ultra-nationalist message did not leave Poland unaffected. The intensified nationalist stridency led toward the the marginalization of Jews. There were political leaders who struggled against this trend, but they were a minority. Government-sponsored anti-Semitism began to take on a more virulent character in the late-1930s.
There is no doubt that there was anti-Semitism in pre-War Poland. Given the number of Jews, this seems unavoidable. Although that said, there does not have to be Jews to be anti-Semitism. I found this out working in Latin America where anti-Semetic thought was rife, but very people actually knew a Jew. It is also true that there were many Poles who were not ant-Semetic.
Note what country has the greatest number of 'Righteous among Nations' at Yad Vashem. The question becomes if Poles were especially ant-Semitic. One source claims, "The truth is that during that time, before WWII, anti-Semitism was more popular in Western Europe as well as in the United States then in Poland." It is absolutletly true that before World War II there was wide-spread anti-Semitism in the United States before the War. The U.S. Federal Goverment was aare area of opportunity for Jews because of Civil Service examinations adopted to prevent cronyism, not equal opportunity for minorities. One particulrly notable act of Polish anti-Semitism was refusing to accept Jews of Polish ancestry being expelled by the NAZIs just before Hitler launched World War II. One of these incidents led to Kristallnacht.
The Catholic Church played a unique role in Polish nationalism. During the years of foreign occupation adter the Partitionisns, it was the single most important Polish institution and preserver of Polish nationlist thought. Polish anti-Semitism received significant religious legitimacy from the Roman Catholic Church. This came from the Polish Catholic hierarchy and not just individual priests. Cardinal August Hlond, the newly appointed primate of Poland, issued the Polish Church's prescriptions against Jews in a very widely disseminated pastoral letter (1936).
Berger, Joseph. ”Survivor’s story,” New York Times (August ?, 2000). We do not have the date of the Times issue, but it was reprinted in The (Montreal) Gazette (August 13, 2000).
Liliental, Witold, K. Ph.D., Kirkland. Letter to the Montreal Gazette (August 2000).
Okoniewski, Dr Andrzej. President of Polish-Canadian Congress, Quebec. Letter to the Montreal Gazette (August 2000).
Solek, Lek. Eng.M.Sc. Saint Lambert. Letter to the Montreal Gazette (August 2000).
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