National Jewish Book Award for East European Studies 1999
From 1772 to 1918 the large stretch of eastern Europe that forms the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains was under Austrian rule and known as Galicia. Jews were concentrated more densely here than anywhere in Europe—in large and small towns, in villages, and in estates. Two factors were to contribute to this region developing a distinctive character in the context of east European Jewish history: the impact of Austrian rule and exposure to the German language and culture; and the presence not only of Poles and Jews but also of Ukrainians. To the east of the River San the Ukrainians constituted the majority with the Poles as a sizeable minority; to the west the Poles were the overwhelming majority. In both areas, the triangular relationship between these groups and the Jews deeply affected Jewish life.
The nature of the Jewish community of Galicia and its relationship with the Poles, Ukrainians, and other ethnic groups is the core focus of this volume of Polin. Israel Bartal and John-Paul Himka give overviews of the history of the Jewish community and of its relations with the Poles and Ukrainians; Franz Szabo describes the first impressions of Austrian officials of ethnic relations in newly annexed Galicia; Stanislaw Grodziski examines the way the reforms of Maria Theresa and Joseph II affected the Jews, while Hanna Kozinska-Witt investigates the views of the sociologist Ludwig Gumplowicz on the Jewish issue. Other articles examine the consequences of Galician autonomy after 1867 for the Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians; Jewish large landowners in Galicia; the views of the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko on the ‘Jewish question’; the Jewish role in the election of 1873; and Jewish emigration from Galicia to Vienna.
In the New Views section, Janina Rogozik describes the career of the Jewish inter-war parliamentary journalist Bernard Singer; Joanna Hensel-Liwszicowa outlines the social composition of Warsaw Jewry in 1912; and Stephen D. Corrsin investigates levels of literacy among Poles and Jews in late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Warsaw. In addition, further articles examine the collapse of the ideal of assimilation in the Kingdom of Poland in the last years of the nineteenth century; the attitude of the National Democratic Party to the ‘Jewish question’; the views of Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz (1872–1905) on Jewish problems; and controversies in present-day Poland over the writings of Jerzy Kosinski. An article about an important Jewish publishing house in eighteenth-century Poland by the pre-war historian Emanuel Ringelblum is presented in translation.
Contents:
Part I Focusing on Galicia: Jews, Poles, and Ukrainians in Galicia, 1772-1914
Introduction: The Jews of Galicia under the Habsburgs ISRAEL BARTAL and ANTONY POLONSKY
Dimensions of a Triangle: Polish-Ukrainian-Jewish Relations in Austrian Galicia JOHN-PAUL HIMKA
Austrian First Impressions of Ethnic Relations in Galicia: The Case of Governor Anton von Pergen FRANZ A. J. SZABO
The Jewish Question in Galicia: The Reforms of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, 1772-1790 STANISLAW GRODZISKI
Ludwig Gumplowicz's Programme for the Improvement of the Jewish Situation HANNA KOZINSKA-WITT
Enlightenment, Assimilation, and Modern Identity: The Jewish Elite in Galicia JERZY HOLZER
The Consequences of Galician Autonomy after 1867 JOZEF BUSZKO
Politics, Religion, and National Identity: The Galician Jewish Vote in the 1873 Parliamentary Elections RACHEL MANEKIN
From Austeria to Manor: Jewish Landowners in Autonomous Galicia TOMASZ GASOWSKI A
Ukrainian Answer to the Galician Triangle: The Case of Ivan Franko YAROSLAV HRYTSAK
Galician Jewish Migration to Vienna KLAUS HÖDL
Yiddish as an Expression of Jewish Cultural Identity in Galicia and Vienna GABRIELE KOHLBAUER-FRITZ
Part II New Views
Benard Singer, the Forgotten 'Most Popular Jewish Reporter of the Inter-War Years in Poland' JANINA KATARZYNA ROGOZIK
Johann Anton Krieger, Printer of Jewish Books in Nowy Dwór EMANUEL RINGELBLUM
The Alphabetical List of Payers of the Communal Tax in Warsaw for 1912 JOANNA HENSEL-LIWSZICOWA
'The City of Illiterates'? Levels of Literacy among Poles and Jews in Warsaw, 1882-1914 STEPHEN D. CORRSIN
Poles, Jews, and Russians, 1863-1914: The Death of the Ideal of Assimilation in the Kingdom of Poland THEODORE R. WEEKS
Kazimierz Kelles-Krauz, 1872-1905: A Polish Socialist for Jewish Nationality TIMOTHY SNYDER
The Endecja and the Jewish Question ROMAN WAPINSKI
The Return of the Troublesome Bird: Jerzy Kosinski and Polish-Jewish Relations MONIKA ADAMCZYK-GARBOWSKA