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Anti-Semitism in the 1930's
During the period just before the Second World War, Poland had the largest community of Jews in Europe. Jews comprised ten percent of the population. Only the Ukrainians were more numerous, with 13% of the population in interwar Poland. Unlike other minorities, the Jews were very active and stood out from the rest of the population. They differed in terms of religion, but also customs, dress and language, and were also visible in every area of society. They were not only active in trade, which was traditionally associated with them, but also in medicine, law, culture and scholarship. Yiddish and Hebrew publishing houses prospered, and two institutes of international importance existed – the Institute of Judaic Studies in Warsaw and YIVO in Wilno. There were also libraries, theaters and film studios.
As a result of the assimilation that had begun already in the nineteenth century, the Jews also functioned in Polish society, and were active members in it, making enormous contributions to Polish cultural, economic and academic life. This state of affairs prompted animosity among those who supported the idea of creating a state that was “racially pure”, with a uniform ethnic structure.
These tendencies grew stronger in the 1930’s, when the economic crisis mobilized the nationalist right wing. Hitler’s rise to power in neighboring Germany served as a catalyst for these kinds of views, as did the introduction of his racist policies aiming to exclude Jews from society completely. In Polish newspapers, one saw more frequent articles glorifying Hitler’s ethnic policies and calling on fascist models to be adopted. It was often stressed that the Jewish threat in Poland was much higher than in the Third Reich, since Poland had 3.5 million Jews, who had a much stronger influence than the several hundred thousand in Germany. Attempts were made to borrow and introduce methods that would lead to mass emigration from Poland. One of these methods was to isolate Jews strictly from the rest of society and to deprive them of the possibility of having contact with Poles, which was intended to limit the “damaging” influences they might have on the native Polish population.
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In an attempt to protect themselves from the “Jewification” of Poles, it was proposed that the two populations be separated, and that Jewish counterparts for Polish unions and associations be created. A racist segregation of schools at all levels was proposed, and even the creation of closed Jewish districts.
Thus these methods of removing Jews from social life were approved, and associations and trade unions were closed to them. The Polish Architects’ Union did this as well, and a little later Jews were also excluded from lawyers’ and doctors’ unions.
At universities, attempts were made to implement the principle of numerus clausus – which meant limiting the number of Jewish students to the percentage Jews represented in society, i.e., 10%. The first attempts to introduce numerus clausus were already made in 1923, but this principle broke the law that was part of the “Small Treaty of Versailles” (“Treaty on the Protection of National Minorities”). This idea was taken up ten years later, with an explanation that it was necessary because educated Jews played too great a role in Poland, and that they removed Poles from their positions and jobs. Alongside plans to introduce numerus clausus, a more radical version was also proposed – numerus nullus, i.e., the complete exclusion of Jews from universities. Although this law was not passed, extra-legal means were nevertheless undertaken – at many universities, racial segregation was introduced, known as the “bench ghetto” (getto ławkowe). This was done by designating a section in lecture halls (in the left part of the room) where Jewish students were to sit. They were banned from sitting anywhere other than those designated places. The battle over the “bench ghetto” lasted for several years. As a result, in 1937, the Minister of Education issued an order allowing rectors to create the designated areas. The students being discriminated against protested loudly against the “bench ghetto”. As part of their protests, they would listen to the lectures while standing up. In response to this opposition, there were fights on campus, primarily instigated by members of ONR and other pro-fascist groups.
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Blood was shed at campus riots, during which two students were killed. ONR aggression was also directed against the lecturers who were brave enough to oppose this isolation of a part of the student body.
Ideologists of the nationalist party often called for the Jews to be excluded from the economy. An economic boycott was to be the main means of achieving this. A lack of Polish trading partners and clients was supposed to lead to the Jews’ financial ruin, and then to the loss of their workshops, stores and companies. The economic boycott was to include a ban on hiring Jews in Polish companies and Poles in Jewish companies, and on creating goods for Polish consumption in Jewish companies. All this in effect meant a ban on any kind of trade or exchange of goods between the two peoples. Publicists associated with the Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny also called for the confiscation of all Jewish property, which they claimed would be a way of meting out “historical justice”.
The legislative ban on ritual slaughter passed by the Sejm had both an economic dimension, as well as a religious and cultural one. This was a measure directed clearly at Jews, since it made it impossible for them to abide by kashruth, i.e., the preparation of means in accordance with religious rules. It was passed in 1937, with a simultaneous five-year moratorium, so the total ban on ritual slaughter came into effect only in 1942. The anti-Semitic slogans about separation and the introduction of special laws for Jews had been heard since the start of the interwar period. Racist tendencies strengthened, however, during the 1930’s, most importantly because of the example of other European countries, such as fascist Germany, Italy and Romania. It was also significant that the racist laws in those countries had not met with criticism from the international community, and in particular from democratic countries and the League of Nations. This silence gave the far right a sense of impunity when wielding their slogans calling for hatred, violence and terror.
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