Some Thoughts on Polish-Jewish Relations

Summary

The Poles and Jews shared the same lands within the same country for hundreds of years. They lived together, or side by side - it varied. A string of historical contingencies, both medieval and modern, led to the growth of Jewish settlements, particularly in the (historically) central and eastern regions of the Polish state. This is indicated - in the 200-year period preceding World War II - by the proportion of Jews living in these territories: 8-10 per cent of the population (although towards the end of the 19th century the Jews constituted as much as 25 per cent of inhabitants in some Polish territories under Russian occupation). This proportion was more or less maintained consistently, a fact which testified, among other things, to the relatively stable situation of the Jewish national/religious group in this part of Europe. It also indicated that this group was the largest not only in proportional terms but in actual numbers as well, and this was reflected in the importance of Polish Jews within the world diaspora. A profoundly religious life and the considerable development of spiritual and intellectual activity in its various forms - artistic, scientific, social and political - assured the Polish Jews a unique position among European Jewry, although for Jews settled in the wealthier, more highly civilized and, above all more industrially developed countries of Western Europe (e.g. Germany, England and France) their economic position, and therefore their place in the modern state, opened up wider culturo economic possibilities. The uniqueness of their customs and the strong traditional roots shared by the greater part of Jews living in Poland undoubtedly was of positive value for the Jewish diaspora, retaining as it did an inexhaustible reservoir of unchanging religious and traditional values. But it must also be remembered that this uniqueness, together with the poorer material situation of the ‘Ostjuden’ meant that the Jews of Western Europe viewed them with some reserve.

The overwhelming majority of the Jews of Poland rejected assimilationist tendencies, steadfastly maintaining the primary value of their separate identity, and a significant number of Orthodox Jews preferred actual isolation from the non-Jewish environment. The Poles too, having numerous links with the Jews arising from the practicalities of everyday life, were not overly eager to break down barriers dividing them. Each side also displayed tendencies of superiority towards the other.