No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939 (review)

Abstract

No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939, by Emanuel MelzerThe history of Jews in Poland between the two World Wars is generally depressing, and the period 1935-1939 is particularly depressing. Emanuel Melzer's study documents this unenviable picture with fresh research from Israeli, Polish, and British archives as well as published primary and secondary literature. His work fleshes out the familiar topic and gives fresh detail about the issues of the day. He discusses Polish government policy, shows the reactions of different Polish groups, and examines the activities of Jewish parties and factions. The book makes a useful contribution to the field, although it could have been more sharply focused.Melzer confirms that antisemitism, which was a problem throughout the interwar period, radicalized and deepened after 1935. The National Democratic movement had long made antisemitism a major plank in its program, but their major opponent, Jozef Pilsudski, the dominant figure in Poland in 1926-35, adopted a more equitable policy towards Jews and other minorities. After his death in 1935, Pilsudski's successors, the Colonels, attempted to bolster their political position by borrowing the opposition's antisemitic policy. They encouraged boycotts of large and small Jewish enterprises, tolerated anti-Jewish bullying in schools and universities, enacted laws restricting kosher slaughter, and made Jewish emigration a major aim of foreign policy. The Colonels disliked antisemitic violence, but they did little to stop it, and Polish Jews suffered several severe pogroms at this time as well as numerous lesser incidents. Melzer shows that large segments of society pushed the Polish government to adopt these policies. Students were most vehement and active, while peasants tended to be passive and disliked strident anti-Jewish policies that interfered with their trading patterns. Factory workers included both antisemites and proponents of Polish-Jewish solidarity. Melzer's portrait of Polish society and government policies shows the range of opinion. However, he puts more emphasis on the antisemitic side of that spectrum.Melzer traces the variety of Jewish political parties and factions from the religious conservatives on the right to the Bund, Labor Zionists, and Communists on the left. His major point is that there was little cooperation among the parties to fight off antisemitic initiatives from government and society. Not only did each party have its own approach, it actively competed with other Jewish parties for support among the Jewish public and failed to present a united front against Polish antisemitic elements. …