It seems that Marshal Pilsudski had no use for ethnic labels, racial profiling or religious affiliations. His sole criteria was "Are you loyal to the Polish Republic or not" as such Jews who WERE loyal, flourished quite a bit. After Pilsudski's death the rise of Nazism permeated Germany. Its Anti-Semitism was of a virulent, violent nature - witness Krystallnacht. Poland took a different turn. It decried brutal anti-Semitism, decried Nazism but embraced another policy viz. "Owszem" [Pronounced Offshem] Briefly the declaration was Violence towards Jews is despicable, but boycotting and shunning - Owszem!"
It literally means YES but in context It roughly translates to the English Aderabbah or Au contraire. [Well they aren't English are they] - on the contrary.
Here is a poignant view of a shtetl that had bening owszem which reigned from 1935-39.
Goworowo, Poland (Pages 14-27)
http://www.jewishgen.org/Yizkor/Goworowo/gow014.html
During Polish rule and up to the outbreak of the last war life in the shtetl was relatively peaceful. There was no noticeable public antisemitism. Only with the latest "Owszem" policy[7] of the Polish government, when it officially called for suppression of Jewish commerce and businesses, was a quiet boycott and picketing of Jewish shops called. The friendly relations between the Jews and their Christian neighbors, long dear to the hearts of both, did much to weaken the boycott plans. Most of the antisemitic agitators came from outside the town. They looked resentfully at the peaceful relations between the Jewish and Christian populations.
[7] "The infamous owszem or economic boycott politics began in June 1936, after being suggested in the inaugural speech of the new Prime Minister of Poland, General F. Slawoy-Skladkowski. This policy encouraged Polish customers to boycott Jewish businessmen, shops, handicraftsmen, and factories. Actively implemented by the nationalist extremists, the policy consisted of more than propaganda. It involved picketing Jewish stores and threatening Poles who dared enter, smashing store windows, overturning stalls and pushcarts, destroying merchandise, and knifing and beating Jewish owners. " See http://davidhorodok.tripod.com/4a.html.
"As the Polish economy deteriorated during the Great Depression and the rise of Hitler and the collapse of the League of Nations in the 1930s underscored the fragility of Polish security, Polish society became increasingly concerned about unity and safety. Thus the Jewish situation deteriorated , especially after Piłsudski's death in 1935. Although Poland never passed anti-Semitic legislation, discrimination against Jews was widespread in administrative practice, including restriction to institutions of higher learning. Public outbursts of anti-Semitism, including economic boycotts and occasional street violence, were quite frequent in the late 1930s. It was a sad last chapter in the ancient tradition of Polish-Jewish cohabitation in the lands of the old Commonwealth." From The History of Poland by M. B. Biskupski.
Return»
Shalom
RRW
No comments:
Post a Comment