The Jewish Population in Warsaw at the turn of the Eighteenth Century

Summary

REGULATION OF THE RESIDENTIAL STATUS OF JEWS

The growth of the Jewish population in Warsaw was connected with changes which occurred from the eighteenth century in the capital itself. Before then the town was largely undeveloped and its population was no more than 30,000. Population growth from this time came mainly from migration, since the birth rate was still insignificant. As the centre of political life, commerce and, eventually, also of industry, Warsaw attracted merchants, artisans, physicians, artists as well as servants and those without a specific trade seeking employment. During the reign of the Saxon kings and of Stanislaw August many Germans, French, Italians, Greeks, Russians, Armenians and other foreigners began arriving in Warsaw. These newcomers also included Jews. Under Stanislaw August, besides the foreigners, there was an influx of native gentry, magnates and their servants as well as impoverished nobility. Finally, various sections of the non-noble population also settled there. This immigration was closely related to the general growth of political and economic life in the capital.

The overall development of Warsaw also shaped the growth of the Jewish population. Up to the end of the eighteenth century, Jewish settlement in Warsaw was subject to various restrictions. These limitations dated back to the times of the dukes of Mazovia who banned the settlement of Jews. Their decisions stemmed largely from the economic, particularly urban, backwardness of the duchy, and were feasible because of the political independence of Mazovia and its dukes. After Mazovia was incorporated into the Polish kingdom, the same policy was continued by the Polish monarchs.

The privilege de non tolerandis Judaeis issued by Zygmunt I to the Warsaw burghers in 1527 forbade Jews to settle there and to engage in the town's trade and crafts. Jews could stay in Warsaw only during sittings of the Sejm or other convocations, as in 1570, but with no right to permanent residence.

Prohibitions against permanent residence, however did not stop the influx of Jews, especially from the middle of the eighteenth century. Demands had ceased for the expulsion of Jews from Mazovia2 and a decree of 1768 ended the ban on Jewish settlements there.