Anti-Jewish Violence in Poland, 1918‒1939 and 1945‒1947

Abstract

This chapter discusses anti-Jewish violence in twentieth-century Poland. Historical research has tended to focus on descriptions of individual riots, such as the Przytyk pogrom of March 9, 1936 and the Kielce pogrom of July 4, 1946, or on discussion of a particular historical period. There has been no attempt to explore the similarities and differences between the mechanisms of and reactions to anti-Jewish riots. The chapter looks at the link between the myth of the Jew as the ‘Threatening Other’ and eruptions of anti-Jewish excesses between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1947, concentrating on the extent to which this myth influenced the initiation and evaluation of anti-Jewish violence in these two distinctive historical periods. The term ‘violence’ refers to the following types of actions: inflicting damage on Jewish properties, including private homes, shops, institutions, and synagogues; slander; physical harassment; assaults; and murder. The chapter also outlines the socio-historical context in which the anti-Jewish violent disturbances and riots occurred in both periods.