Description
Book SynopsisBefore the mid-nineteenth century, Jews in the Polish lands led lives quite separate from their Christian neighbors. As modern ideologies of nationalism gained strength, however, Jewish separateness came to be seen as a problem, even a threat, to the Polish nation. Assimilation, a process by which Jews would become Poles in all but their religious practices, was the solution most often presented by liberal Poles from the late eighteenth centurywhen the Jewish question was first seriously debated in Polish societyuntil the late nineteenth century. This solution foresaw the cultural, linguistic, and external differences between Catholic Poles and Jews diminishing, thereby allowing Polish-speaking, European-clad Jews to take their appropriate place within the Polish nation.
As Russian cultural and linguistic domination threatened both Polish society and Jews, assimilation was also seen as a means of strengthening the Polish nation. Unfortunately, however, closer relations between
Trade Review
Well-written, thoroughly researched, and carefully balanced... a reliable, concise, and highly accessible account.
* American Historical Review *
A significant contribution to our understanding of the relations between Poles and Jews before World War I. An important achievement.
* The Polish Review *
Erudite and fascinating. Essential reading.
* Religious Studies Review *
Table of ContentsTable of Contents
Introduction
1—Historical Background—Poles and Jews to the 1850s
2—The Winds of Change, 1856-1863
3—Defeat, Development, Recovery, 1864-1880
4—Traumatic Years, 1881-1882
5—Beginnings of Modern Polish Antisemitism, 1883-1892
6—Progress and Reaction, 1893-1903
7—Revolution, 1904-1906
8—Breakdown, 1907-1914
Conclustion—Polish-Jewish Relations in European Context
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
