Nationalizing a Borderland: War, Ethnicity, and Anti-Jewish Violence in East Galicia, 1914-1920 by Alexander Prusin (review)

Abstract

584 SEER, 85, 3, JULY 2OO7 theFirstWorld War) figure at least to some degree in thisbook, Dr McKean's retirement can already be said to have generated a work which stands comparison with that of his years in post. School of Historical Studies David Saunders Newcastle University Prusin, Alexander. Nationalizing a Borderland: War, Ethnicity, and Anti-Jewish Violencein East Galicia, igi4~ig20. Judaic Studies Series. The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL, 2005. xiv + 181 pp. Map. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index. ?25.95: $35.00. Alexander Prusin has produced a cogent, tightlyfocused study of a topic that has received relatively sparse attention ? yet is of tremendous significance for understanding the vicissitudes ofmodern Jewish history: the fate of a large portion of theEast European Jewish masses in themidst and aftermath of the First World War. 'East Galicia', Prusin states, 'ranks among the regions most devastated byWorld War F, and '[0]ne of the crudest [sic] facets ofRussian occupation was the persecution of Jews, who were accused of sabotage, eco nomic subversion, and active collaboration with the Central Powers' (p. ix). After the Russian retreat in 1915Jews were victimized by Poles intent on forging their own homogonous nation, purged of elements theydeemed alien ? mainly Jews. He examines 'a series of pogroms' perpetrated largely by 'Polish troops' in which Jews suffered physical assaults, requisitions, and imprisonment as the Polish-Ukrainian and Polish-Soviet wars swept through the region'. Above all, Prusin's copious archival work reveals that 'two differ ent polities ? the Russian Empire and the Polish Republic ? expressed similar concerns about the alleged intractability of the Jews', as 'all Jews were considered potentially destructive' (p. x). Although he does not dwell on it, the author relates numerous instances when widespread rape and assaults against women were striking aspects of 'pogrom' violence (pp. 17, 29-30, 53, 62). Seeking to elaborate a nuanced interpretation of Jew-hatred, the author stresses that 'the wartime climate infused traditional anti-Semitism with new elements, which made it especially ferocious. Obsession with potential sabo teurs in the front zone generated an atmosphere of pervasive siege mentality among Russian and Polish troops, which invariably assaulted Jews as the ubiquitous secretive foe' (pp. x-xi). Prusin also is concerned with exploring what he calls 'theparticular "stimulis quality" ? an intangible interaction of real and purported interactions ofJews' and outside forces that spurred and served to justifyRussian and Polish behaviour. Perhaps themost novel insight of this study is that the interplay of perceptions ofJews and anti-Jewish acts 'demonstrated the intrinsicweaknesses and vulnerability of theJews at times of political crisis.On the other hand, Jewish relief,political, and diplomatic effortsstrengthened popular convictions among Russians and Poles thatJews were a powerful and cunning foe with wide-ranging international connections' (pp. xi, 94). Another distinctive contribution of this study is Prusin's explica tion of the relationship between Jews and Ukrainians in the nascent Ukrainian REVIEWS 585 entity,particularly the ZUNR (pp. 98-101, 115-16),which inmany respects prefigured theJewish integration into the Bolshevik regime. As much as the author makes a determined effort to adhere to his time period and avoid sweeping generalizations, this book also illuminates dimen sions of subsequent Jewish history that have been somewhat enigmatic. For instance, Prusin's study helps explain why the Bolsheviks emerged as the better alternative, in many Jews' eyes, despite the earlier severe reservations about their radicalism. From the perspective of theHolocaust, thisbook also underscores the extent to which state policies such as expulsion in 'boxcars' (p. 51), 'epidemics' (p. 43), forced labour, collective punishment, and even con centration camps (p. 59) were not all that shocking when they emerged in the context of Nazism. Ironically, this interpretation also underscores the fact that the German state and army were among the least antisemitic forces in the heated World War I atmosphere (pp. 67-68), despite the fact that the govern ment conducted a 'census' to establish thatJews were shirkingwar duty. Prusin also exposes the background of the complex discourse on Jews and criminality in Galicia that the Nazis were able to exploit as their policies evolved from persecution to genocide (pp. 18, 33, 40, 55, 68, 84, 87-90). The author suggests this...