The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881

by Israel Bartal

In the nineteenth century, the largest Jewish community the modern world had known lived in hundreds of towns and shtetls in the territory between the Prussian border of Poland and the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea. The period had started with the partition of Poland and the absorption of its territories into the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires; it would end with the first large-scale outbreaks of anti-Semitic violence and the imposition in Russia of strong anti-Semitic legislation. In the years between, a traditional society accustomed to an autonomous way of life would be transformed into one much more open to its surrounding cultures, yet much more confident of its own nationalist identity. In The Jews of Eastern Europe , Israel Bartal traces this transformation and finds in it the roots of Jewish modernity.

Genres: History, Jewish, Nonfiction, Judaism

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Vio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this/these book/s both in English and German (yes, I still have to read the Conclusion in German, I am doing it right after writing these few lines here).

It was (for me) a fascinating encounter with the world of Eastern European Jewry. While the described ”historical facts” go from ”easy” to ”very complicated”, Israel Bartal does a wonderful job of keeping it ”real” (haha, watching *black-ish*, haha) and while it is a 100% scientific book, with the footnotes and the likes, it reads marvelously, also thanks to the very professional translations.

Probably the first book/s I read in entirety during my studies (to be finished...), also due to the missing of the ”scientific jargon” which makes at least German articles in general to be a pain in the ***, if you consider the fact that the authors seem to try harder and harder to compose longer and even more complicated phrases. Thankfully, not the case here. Olé!

I was a little under pressure (the books have to be returned to the library by tomorrow) by marking the book/s as "currently reading" here on Goodreads, as it is a well known fact that once landed here, this means mostly abandoned for a bunch of them, in my case, of course. So, so sorry. And so happy to break the chain (?). (is this covid19 slang now?!?!)

Highly recommended to those interested in history, Jews, Eastern Europe.

[Eavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a perfectly sized history of Eastern European Jewry between the late 18th to 19th centuries. Every passage had a reason to be there—no frills, no padding, just a concise history. I really can't recommend this higher as a starting place to learn about the period.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent synthetic history combining and critiquing a lot of the existing historiography. Bartal argues that the modern period in Eastern Europe was brought about by the collapse of the Polish-nobility feudal model and the encroaching inevitability of market capitalism. Additionally, the partition of Poland and the new demands of the modernizing empires (Habsburg and Russian) in its wake required the Jews to reorient vis a vis the state. The states’ impositions and new demands of proto-citizenship eroded Jewish social institutions and authorities, as well as requiring changes to education. Although most Eastern European Jews remained traditional religiously and linguistically/culturally until at least the 1870s, the forces described above ushered in the modern era for Eastern European Jewry.
Bartal noticeably downplays the role of the Haskalah, which he says was an effect, but not a cause, of Jewish modernity. In his view, political changes and more importantly economic changes were the cause of the Haskalah. The need for a new urban middle class and the erosion of a feudal system required the Jews to move and to refashion their economic identities. With this refashioning came new religious and political identities as well. He also suggests that the Eastern Haskalah was a concurrent and parallel development to the Western Haskalah, not a resultant offshoot. Bartal additionally downplays 1881 and the pogroms as a revolutionary moment; he claims that throughout the 1870s there were significant social changes that laid the groundwork for more thorough embrace of new ideologies in the decade to follow.
Bartal does a great job of highlighting the divergences between different political landscapes (Congress Poland, Pale of Settlement, Galicia) while also underscoring the similarities between all of these Jews culturally. All shared a past history in a similar position within the feudal economy, which would form some of the basis for their eventual claims of nationalist cohesion.

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book of history an despite not know if anything about eastern european history it did a good job filling that it. i think i am just uninterested in eastern europe as a whole sorry

[Alex Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Интересно, хотя суховато.
Я читал довольно быстро, осталось желание когда нибудь перечитать - наверняка что-то пропустил.
Книга описывает историю евреев в Восточной Европе в 19 веке. Большая часть книга посвящена Российской империи, хотя есть пара глав про Австро-Венгрию.

Из почерпнутого:

- Евреи оказались в России после разделов Польшим в конце 18 века, и практически до середины 19 века их жизненный улад в основном не менялся, несмотря на попытки царской администрации.

- Основным их занятием была экономическая деятельность в сельских районах. Еврейские общины существовали в симбиозе с местными польскими помещиками, выполняя разнообразные функции в обслуживании поместий и нужд крепостных крестьян - управление поместьями, мельница, производство вина и водки, кабаки, розничная и лоточная торговля, ремесла.

- Общины имели самоуправление, официально признанное или существующее по факту, всем заправляли раввины и богатые члены общины. Община также регулировала экономическую деятельность своих членов - например, предотвращала конкуренцию между евреями.

- Этот уклад жизни развалился во второй половине 19 века, по следующим причинам:
* Начало индустриализации
* Освобождение крестьян в 1861 году
* Либеральные послабления для евреев как часть общего пакета реформ
* Польское восстание 1863 года, резко ослабившее позиции польского дворянства

- Евреи потеряли источники заработка в традиционных отраслях, и стали переселяться в крупные города. Появились еврейские промышленники, еврейские рабочие.

- Евреи стали учиться в гимназиях и университетах, появилась светская еврейская интеллигенция - врачи, адвокаты, инженеры. Обладавшим профессией разрешалось селиться вне черты оседлости.

- Евреи стали более "видимыми" для русского общества, ранее не имевшего соприкосновения с евреями. Это привело к росту антисемитизма.

- После убийства Александра II в 1881 году по южным городам прокатилась волна погромов. Русская интеллигенция никак не поддержала евреев и не осудила погромы. В результате, многие еврейские деятели, выступавшие прежде за интеграцию в русское общество, перешли на позиции сионизма, и тому подобное - например, еврейские "социалисты" стали "еврейскими социалистами".

- В это же время началась массовая эмиграция в Америку

[Isaac Timm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tad dry in places but a solid conclusion. I don't have much to compare it to, this being the first time taking a class centered in Eastern Europe, so as a historical argument I don't know how to judge its strengths or weakness.