Jewish Disloyalty 1846 Stanislawski

A Murder in Lemberg: Politics, Religion & Violence in Modern Jewish History, by Michael Stanislawski. 2007

Jews as Orientals. German Culture Preferred Over Polish. Jewish Disloyalty to Poland in the 1846 Insurrection

The author, Michael F. Stanislawski, is Professor of History at Columbia University. The stated inspiration for his research was the assassination of Yitshak (Yitzhak) Rabin on November 4, 1995 and the ensuing question, “How could a Jew kill another Jew for political and religious reasons?” (p. 1). Stanislawski then examined the September 1848 arsenic murder, of reformist Rabbi Abraham Kohn, by Orthodox Jew Abraham Ber Pilpel–the culprit “virtually certain”. (p. 112).

ENDEKS WERE CORRECT: POLISH JEWS WERE ORIENTALS

The most notable part of this book, apart from the analysis of early forms of “reformed Judaism” (not only in Germany!), is its information on the Jews of Galicia. Interestingly, Rabbi Kohn characterized not only medieval Jews, but also Poland’s Jews, as “Oriental” ones renowned for their backwardness and fanaticism. (p. 49, 51). [This is ironic, because the Endeks, and authors such as Feliks Koneczny, have frequently been attacked for holding similar views about Jews as an “Oriental” culture, moreover one that does not fit into Poland’s Latin culture.]

JEWISH SUPPORT FOR THE POLISH CAUSE

There were some modern-thinking Jews, such as Rabbi Dov-Berish Meisels, and the Lemberg (Lwow, Lviv) maskil Meir Mintz, who were sympathetic to the Polish cause, in part, because the pro-German orientation of most local Jews was driving the Polish nationalist movement in an anti-Jewish direction. (pp. 66, 68). Rabbi Abraham Kohn also appeared to be supportive of the Polish cause. (p. 69). However, as the following paragraphs make obvious, pro-Polish Jews were the exception.

MODERNIZING JEWS GRAVITATED TO GERMAN–NOT POLISH–CULTURE

Consider Jewish Germanophilia. Stanislawski elaborates on the usually strong pro-German orientation of the erstwhile-Polish Jews of Galicia, and implicitly rejects the exculpation that this was a defense against Polish anti-Semitism. He comments, (quote) The fight for Polish national freedom was led by Polish nobles both in situ and in emigration–especially in Paris–but also was attracting to its cause the Polish middle class, including the non-noble intelligentsia. But not (at least as yet) the “progressive Jews” in Galicia–as opposed to those in Congress Poland or indeed in independent Cracow–who had little or no sympathy for the Polish nationalist cause, and were deeply committed to the German language and German culture. This was so both for pragmatic reasons–they were subjects of a German-speaking state that encouraged the Germanization of the entire population of the empire, a process easier to adapt to for native Yiddish speakers than for other groups–but also out of an ideological, and even spiritual commitment. In line with the Romanticism described in the previous chapter, many modernist Jews deeply identified with German culture as the most advanced bearer of modernity and progress in Europe, if not the world. (unquote). (p. 31).

EPHEMERAL LOYALTIES ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF THE JEW

Consistent with the premise that Jews did not usually forms strong bonds with the nation in which they lived, they had opportunistic loyalties. The author generalizes that, “The vast majority of the Jews adhered to the traditional principle of loyalty to whatever regime was in power.” (p. 67).

JEWISH DISLOYALTY TO POLAND IN 1846 IN AUSTRIAN-RULED POLAND

During the Insurrection of 1846 in Krakow (and the infamous jacquerie), Galicia’s Jews openly sided with the Austrian occupiers of Poland. Stanislawski notes that, (quote) The leaders of the Jewish community of Lemberg, for example, volunteered to raise a Jewish brigade to support Austrian control of the city [Krakow] and of Galicia, but the authorities declined this request… (unquote). (p. 57). The aloofness or hostility to the Polish cause was the rule among Jews, (quote) However, as we have seen, the Jews en masse demonstrated anew their loyalty to the Austrian state during the 1846 Polish rebellion. (unquote). (p. 68).