Chronology of Jewish Polish history
Encyclopedia
The history of the Jews in Poland is outlined in events below.
960 A Jewish merchant from Spain, Ibrahim Ibn Jaqub (Abraham ben Jakov), travels to Poland and writes the first description of the country. Jewish traders are very active in Central Europe
. Mieszko I mints coins with Hebrew letters on them, though some attribute the coins to the times of Mieszko the Old.
1264 Polish Prince Boleslaus the Pious
issued Statute of Kalisz
– The General Charter of Jewish Liberties in Poland.
1343 Persecuted in Western Europe
, the Jews are invited to Poland by King Casimir the Great
.
After massive expulsions of Jews from the Western Europe (England, France, Germany, and Spain), they found a refuge in the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. During the Jagiellon Era Poland became the home to Europe's largest Jewish population, as royal edicts warranting Jewish safety and religious freedom from the 13th century contrasted with bouts of persecution in Western Europe, especially following the Black Death
of 1348–1349, blamed by some in the West on Jews themselves. Large parts of Poland suffered relatively little from the outbreak, while the Jewish immigration brought valuable manpower and skills to the rising state. The greatest increase in Jewish numbers occurred in the 18th century, when Jews came to make up 7% of the Polish population.
1500 Some of the Jews expelled from Spain, Portugal and many German cities move to Poland. By the mid sixteenth century, some eighty percent of the world’s Jews lived in Poland, a figure that held steady for centuries.
1501 King Alexander of Poland readmits Jews to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
.
1525 The first Jew is promoted to knighthood by king Sigismund I of Poland, without being forced to leave Judaism.
1534 King Sigismund I of Poland abolishes the law that required Jews to wear special clothes.
1540–1620 Immigration of Mizrahi Jews
from the Ottoman Empire
.
1547 The first Hebrew Jewish printing house is founded in Lublin
.
1567 The first yeshiva
is founded in Poland.
1580–1764 First session of the Council of Four Lands
(Va'ad Arba' Aratzot) in Lublin
, Poland
. 70 delegates from Jewish communities (kehillot) meet to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community.
1623 The first time a separate Jewish Diet (Va'ad) for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
is convened.
1632 King Ladislaus IV of Poland forbids Anti-Semitic books and printings.
1633 Jews of Poznań
are granted a privilege of forbidding Christians to enter into their city quarter.
1648 Jewish population of Poland reaches 450,000 or 4,5% of the whole population. In Bohemia Jews number 40,000 and in Moravia 25,000. The worldwide Jewish population is estimated at 750,000.
1648–1655 The Ukrainian
Cossack
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
leads Uprising resulting in massacres of Polish szlachta
and Jewry that leaves ca. 65,000 Jews dead and similar number of szlachta also. The total decrease in the number of Jews is estimated at 100,000. Poland loses 40% of her population during The Deluge
.
http://www.virtual.co.il/communities/wjcbook/poland/
1750 Jewish population of Poland reaches 750,000 or 8,0% of the whole population. The worldwide Jewish population is estimated at 1,200,000.
1759 The followers of Jacob Frank
joined ranks of Polish szlachta
of Jewish origin.
1772–1795 Partitions of Poland
between Russia, Kingdom of Prussia
and Austria. Old privileges of Jewish communities are denounced.
1831 Jewish militia units take part in the defence of Warsaw
against Russians
.
1860–1864 Jews are participating actively in the Polish national movement, which is followed by the January Uprising
.
1862 Jews are given equal rights in the Russian partition. The privileges of some cities forbidding Jews to settle down in them are denounced.
1880 World Jewish population numbers around 7,7 million, 90% of which in Europe (mostly Eastern Europe), and around 3,5 million in the former Polish provinces.
1897 The first Russian census numbers 5,200,000 Jews plus 4,900,000 in the Pale. The Kingdom of Poland
has 1,300,000 Jews or 14% of its population.
1921 Polish-Soviet peace treaty in Riga
. Citizens of both sides are given rights to chose the country. Hundreds of thousands of Jews, especially shopkeepers or other professionals forbidden to work in the Soviet Union, move to Poland.
1924 2,989,000 Jews according to a census by religion in Poland (10,5% of total). Jewish youth constitutes 23% of students of high schools and 26% of university students.
1930 The world Jewry population numbers 15,000,000, of which the largest numbers live in the USA (4,000,000), Poland (3,500,000 = 11% of total), Soviet Union (2,700,000 = 2% of total), Romania (1,000,000 = 6% of total) and Palestine (175,000 = 17% of total).
1933–1939 German Jews attempt to emigrate, but almost all countries close borders for Jews, including United Kingdom and USA. Most Jews find a temporary asylum in Poland.
1939–1945 The Holocaust (Ha Shoah).
1946 The Kielce pogrom
.
1948 Tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors begin leaving Poland for Israel
and the United States.
1964 Jewish-Christian relations are given a new turn by the Catholic Church's Vatican II council.
1968 Communist regime-sponsored anti-Zionist
campaign in Poland. Most of the remaining Jews of Poland are forced to emigrate.
Mid 1970s-present – Growing revival of Klezmer
music (The folk music of European Jews). (http://www.well.com/user/ari/klez/articles/aboutklez.html, http://www.klezmershack.com/) and Yiddish culture.
1989–present – Reestablishment of several Jewish communities in Poland, most notably in Warsaw
, Kraków
, Gdańsk
and Wrocław.
2006 – Jewish population in Poland is approximately 25,000. (Jewish population
)
2010 – Jewish population in Poland is approximately 50,000 and is still growing. The cause of this is because many Jews are returning back to homeland Poland. (Jewish population
)
960 A Jewish merchant from Spain, Ibrahim Ibn Jaqub (Abraham ben Jakov), travels to Poland and writes the first description of the country. Jewish traders are very active in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
. Mieszko I mints coins with Hebrew letters on them, though some attribute the coins to the times of Mieszko the Old.
1264 Polish Prince Boleslaus the Pious
Boleslaus of Greater Poland
Bolesław the Pious was a Duke of Greater Poland during 1239–1247 , Duke of Kalisz during 1247–1249, Duke of Gniezno during 1249–1250, Duke of Gniezno-Kalisz during 1253–1257, Duke of whole Greater Poland and Poznań during 1257–1273, in 1261 ruler over Ląd, regent of the Duchies of Masovia, Płock...
issued Statute of Kalisz
Statute of Kalisz
The General Charter of Jewish Liberties known as the Statute of Kalisz was issued by the Duke of Greater Poland Boleslaus the Pious on September 8, 1264 in Kalisz...
– The General Charter of Jewish Liberties in Poland.
1343 Persecuted in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
, the Jews are invited to Poland by King Casimir the Great
Casimir III of Poland
Casimir III the Great , last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty , was the son of King Władysław I the Elbow-high and Hedwig of Kalisz.-Biography:...
.
After massive expulsions of Jews from the Western Europe (England, France, Germany, and Spain), they found a refuge in the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. During the Jagiellon Era Poland became the home to Europe's largest Jewish population, as royal edicts warranting Jewish safety and religious freedom from the 13th century contrasted with bouts of persecution in Western Europe, especially following the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
of 1348–1349, blamed by some in the West on Jews themselves. Large parts of Poland suffered relatively little from the outbreak, while the Jewish immigration brought valuable manpower and skills to the rising state. The greatest increase in Jewish numbers occurred in the 18th century, when Jews came to make up 7% of the Polish population.
1500 Some of the Jews expelled from Spain, Portugal and many German cities move to Poland. By the mid sixteenth century, some eighty percent of the world’s Jews lived in Poland, a figure that held steady for centuries.
1501 King Alexander of Poland readmits Jews to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
.
1525 The first Jew is promoted to knighthood by king Sigismund I of Poland, without being forced to leave Judaism.
1534 King Sigismund I of Poland abolishes the law that required Jews to wear special clothes.
1540–1620 Immigration of Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
1547 The first Hebrew Jewish printing house is founded in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
.
1567 The first yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
is founded in Poland.
1580–1764 First session of the Council of Four Lands
Council of Four Lands
The Council of Four Lands in Lublin, Poland was the central body of Jewish authority in Poland from 1580 to 1764. Seventy delegates from local kehillot met to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community...
(Va'ad Arba' Aratzot) in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Poland
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. 70 delegates from Jewish communities (kehillot) meet to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community.
1623 The first time a separate Jewish Diet (Va'ad) for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
is convened.
1632 King Ladislaus IV of Poland forbids Anti-Semitic books and printings.
1633 Jews of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
are granted a privilege of forbidding Christians to enter into their city quarter.
1648 Jewish population of Poland reaches 450,000 or 4,5% of the whole population. In Bohemia Jews number 40,000 and in Moravia 25,000. The worldwide Jewish population is estimated at 750,000.
1648–1655 The Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
Bohdan Zynoviy Mykhailovych Khmelnytsky was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state...
leads Uprising resulting in massacres of Polish szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
and Jewry that leaves ca. 65,000 Jews dead and similar number of szlachta also. The total decrease in the number of Jews is estimated at 100,000. Poland loses 40% of her population during The Deluge
The Deluge (Polish history)
The term Deluge denotes a series of mid-17th century campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, thus comprising the Polish–Lithuanian theaters of the Russo-Polish and...
.
http://www.virtual.co.il/communities/wjcbook/poland/
1750 Jewish population of Poland reaches 750,000 or 8,0% of the whole population. The worldwide Jewish population is estimated at 1,200,000.
1759 The followers of Jacob Frank
Jacob Frank
Jacob Frank was an 18th century Jewish religious leader who claimed to be the reincarnation of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi and also of the biblical patriarch Jacob...
joined ranks of Polish szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
of Jewish origin.
1772–1795 Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
between Russia, Kingdom of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Austria. Old privileges of Jewish communities are denounced.
1831 Jewish militia units take part in the defence of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
against Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
.
1860–1864 Jews are participating actively in the Polish national movement, which is followed by the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
.
1862 Jews are given equal rights in the Russian partition. The privileges of some cities forbidding Jews to settle down in them are denounced.
1880 World Jewish population numbers around 7,7 million, 90% of which in Europe (mostly Eastern Europe), and around 3,5 million in the former Polish provinces.
1897 The first Russian census numbers 5,200,000 Jews plus 4,900,000 in the Pale. The Kingdom of Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
has 1,300,000 Jews or 14% of its population.
1921 Polish-Soviet peace treaty in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. Citizens of both sides are given rights to chose the country. Hundreds of thousands of Jews, especially shopkeepers or other professionals forbidden to work in the Soviet Union, move to Poland.
1924 2,989,000 Jews according to a census by religion in Poland (10,5% of total). Jewish youth constitutes 23% of students of high schools and 26% of university students.
1930 The world Jewry population numbers 15,000,000, of which the largest numbers live in the USA (4,000,000), Poland (3,500,000 = 11% of total), Soviet Union (2,700,000 = 2% of total), Romania (1,000,000 = 6% of total) and Palestine (175,000 = 17% of total).
1933–1939 German Jews attempt to emigrate, but almost all countries close borders for Jews, including United Kingdom and USA. Most Jews find a temporary asylum in Poland.
1939–1945 The Holocaust (Ha Shoah).
1946 The Kielce pogrom
Kielce pogrom
The Kielce pogrom was an outbreak of violence against the Jewish community in the city of Kielce, Poland on July 4, 1946, perpetrated by a mob of local townsfolk and members of the official government forces of the People's Republic of Poland...
.
1948 Tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors begin leaving Poland for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the United States.
1964 Jewish-Christian relations are given a new turn by the Catholic Church's Vatican II council.
1968 Communist regime-sponsored anti-Zionist
Anti-Zionism
Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionistic views or opposition to the state of Israel. The term is used to describe various religious, moral and political points of view in opposition to these, but their diversity of motivation and expression is sufficiently different that "anti-Zionism" cannot be...
campaign in Poland. Most of the remaining Jews of Poland are forced to emigrate.
Mid 1970s-present – Growing revival of Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
music (The folk music of European Jews). (http://www.well.com/user/ari/klez/articles/aboutklez.html, http://www.klezmershack.com/) and Yiddish culture.
1989–present – Reestablishment of several Jewish communities in Poland, most notably in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
and Wrocław.
2006 – Jewish population in Poland is approximately 25,000. (Jewish population
Jewish population
Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world. Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of "Who is a Jew" is a source of controversy.-Total population:...
)
2010 – Jewish population in Poland is approximately 50,000 and is still growing. The cause of this is because many Jews are returning back to homeland Poland. (Jewish population
Jewish population
Jewish population refers to the number of Jews in the world. Precise figures are difficult to calculate because the definition of "Who is a Jew" is a source of controversy.-Total population:...
)
See also
- Timeline of Polish historyTimeline of Polish historyDates and most important events in Polish history from prehistoric times up to the present day.-Before the 10th century:5500 BC : Arrival of the first farmers740 BC : Biskupin fortified settlement built...
- History of the Jews in PolandHistory of the Jews in PolandThe history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
- Jewish Polish history: Origins to 17th century
- Jewish Polish history during the 18th century
- Jewish Polish history during the 19th century
- Jewish Polish history during the 20th century
- Jewish Polish history (1989–present)