The Western Jewish Communities as Perceived by Polish Jews in the Interwar Period (1918 – 1939)

  • Abstract:
    The western European Jewish Communities were a subject of admiration and of the Polonized and educated Jews who Identified themselves as “Assimilationists” in Interwar Poland (1918 – 1939) The Jewish Communities in the west were perceived as communities which combined their Jewish characteristics with Modernity and patriotism, while the Jewish communities in Poland were described as traditional. The lecture will discuss the impact of this concept on the self image of assimilated Polish Jews. My lecture will present the different perception of the Jewish communities.