Figure 1.--This is a depiction of Casimir the Great and the Jews. The 'wandering Jews' driven from Western Europe ask Casimir the Great for refuge in Poland. Actually Polish kings had been granting Jewsrefuge earlier. Casamir This is a work by Wojciech Gerson painted in 1874.

European Jews, driven from the Christian kingdoms of the West (14th-16th centuries), gravitated east during the Medieval era where they were welcomed by Polish kings into what became the Polish-Lithuahnian Commonwealth (1384-1795). One historian writes, "Jews were the only significant non-Christian group tolerated in Western Christendom, and they florished in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth." 【Polonsky】 Casimir III the Great confirmed privileges and protections that were being granted to Jews fleeing oppression in the West (r1333-70). He promoted their settlement in large numbers. 【Aharoni, p. 220.】 This area of Eastern Europe thus became a kind of Jewish homeland, the world center of Jewish life. Unlike the great bulk pf the Polish and Lithuanian people, many Jews were lterate, considerably enriching the kingdoms cultural and acglarly life. The Jews lived in Poland and Lithunia for half a millenium constructing a vibrant community within Christian lands. 【Polonsky】 Toleration and the political situation varied over time. Poland and the Grahnd Duchy of Lithuania had earlier dynastic connectionsm but united formally (1569). This brought Ukraine under the control of Lituania to Polabnd. It also opened the Ukraine to Jewish emigration. Polish colonization of Ukraine followed meanin Polish nobels acqyired land in Ukraine (16th-17th centuries). Jews helped Polish nobels turn their new lands into profitable estates. It is at this time that the shtetl emerges. This was a private town owned by a nobelman--a kind of company town in modern parlance. It was largely outside royal control and allowed to manage its own affairs. These were largely stable times in which the Jews could live and develop a destinct culture. Here the major trends in Jewish religious and community life emerged. Jews prospered under the Commonwealth and were largely free of discrimination. The Commonwealth was a kind of aristocratic republic dominated by the landed aristocracy. This had the impact of marginilizing the two groups politically that were most likely to discrimate against Jews: the Christian burghers of the city and the Catholic Church. Jewish political autonomy thus became an integral part of Polish Commonwealth. Jews selected their own rabbis and communal councils. These authorities collected taxes, both for the community and the Commonwealth. Jewish councils had direct relationship with high officials of the Commonwealth. There was thus a critical relationship with the Commonwealth. Reverses experienced the Commonwealth had serious consequences for the Jews (17th-18th centuies). Bohdan Khmelnyts'kyi led a Cossack rebellion against Polish colonization of the Ukraine (1648). The Cossocks killed some 13,000 Jews in the Ukraine at this time. 【Polonsky】 As the power of Tsarist Russia increased and that of Poland declined, much of the area where these Jews lived came under the control of Tsarist Russia and to a much lesser extent Prussia and Ausrtria. The final step was the Polish Partitions (1772-95). Tsarist Russia did not tolerate Jews for religious reasons. As Tsarist Russia gained control over both Ukraine and Poland, a state without Jews abd hostile to them became the state with the largest Jewish population in the world. Tsarist rule proved much less benign than Polish rule and would eventually lead to vicious Tsarist orcestrated attacks on Jews.

Sources

Aharoni, Yohanan. The Jewish People: An Illustrated History (A&C Black: 2006).

Polonsky, Antony. The Jews in Poland and Russia 3 volumes (2012).

Created: 3:28 AM 3/29/2025
Last updated: 4:16 AM 3/29/2025