World War I's War Brought On Overt Anti-Semitism On Top Of Present Anti-Semitism

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

    More than a century after World War I, war continues to be the  same.....

Jews suffered significantly during World War I, experiencing a range of harms across different regions and in the context of their military service. 

Jews were confined to the Pale of Settlement, a Russian holding by Catherine II in 1791.  It was made up of 25 provinces of Czarist Russia of Poland, Lithuania, White Russia, Ukraine, Bessarabia, and Crimea; the home of "Fiddler On The Roof." 

"Fiddler on the Roof" is set in 1905 in the fictional Jewish village of Anatevka, located in the Pale of Settlement within the Russian Empire (now part of Ukraine). The story follows Tevye, a Jewish milkman, as he navigates the challenges of tradition, family, and societal changes amidst a backdrop of poverty and anti-Semitism.   World War I began in Ukraine when the Russian Empire invaded Galicia (part of modern-day western Ukraine) in August 1914.

The war on the eastern front between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany and Austria) was conducted on territories that were home to almost four million Jews. In the autumn of 1914 and the winter of 1915, Russian forces occupied Austrian Galicia, and in the spring and summer of 1915, Germany and Austria conquered Congress Poland (the duchy annexed by Russia according to the treaties of 1815), Volhynia, Lithua­nia, and western Belorussia. Under Russian rule, the Jews were suspected of collaboration with the enemy, and 600,000 of them were banished from the front by the czarist army, a traumatic experience and an economic catastrophe that was still felt long after the war

For instance;  

• Mass expulsions and forced resettlement: Between March and September 1915, the Russian army expelled over half a million Jews from frontline areas. For example, all 40,000 Jews in Kovno (Kaunas) were forcibly removed within 48 hours in May 1915. Similar expulsions occurred in Courland and northern Lithuania in 1915.
•  The Russian army expelled Jews from areas near the front lines, restricted their movements, and took hostages as a way of instilling fear and submission in the Jewish population.

1. Displacement and Persecution:

• Eastern Europe: As the reader now knows, the war on the Eastern Front, fought in territories with a large Jewish population, resulted in massive displacement.  Russian forces, suspecting collaboration with the enemy, expelled an estimated 600,000 Jews from frontline areas. This caused economic hardship and trauma that lingered long after the war. Many other Jews, fearing the violence, fled their homes voluntarily.
• Widespread Suspicion and Hostage-Taking: The Russian military command, in particular, displayed overt anti-Semitism, viewing the Jewish population as disloyal and involved in espionage. They implemented repressive measures, including mass deportations, expulsions, and the taking of hostages as a means of control and fear. These actions were justified as necessary to protect against perceived "enemy aliens".
• Pogroms: Following World War I, pogroms (violent attacks and riots against Jews) reignited in Eastern Europe, often instigated by soldiers. In Ukraine and Poland between 1918 and 1921, there were over 1,500 pogroms resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 Jews. 

2. Casualties and Military Service:

• Serving on All Sides: Jews fought in the armies of their respective countries, often finding themselves on opposing sides of the conflict.
• High Casualties: Over 1.5 million Jewish soldiers participated in the war, and an estimated 150,000 were killed.
• Antisemitic Claims and Discrimination: Despite their service, Jews in many countries faced harassment and false accusations of responsibility for the war or shirking duty. 

3. Long-Term Consequences:

• Eastern European Jewry Devastated: The war and subsequent violence led to the disruption or destruction of countless Jewish communities, a catastrophe from which East European Jewry never fully recovered.
• Radicalization and Political Change: The war's upheaval contributed to the radicalization of some Eastern European Jewish youth towards secular and Marxist ideologies. The Bolshevik revolution and the subsequent Soviet regime attempted to suppress the practice of Judaism.
• Continued Anti-Semitism: The war exacerbated existing anti-Semitism in various countries. In Germany, the "stab-in-the-back" myth, which blamed Jews for the country's defeat, contributed to a climate of hatred.
• Foundation for the Holocaust: The virulent unleashing of anti-Semitism during WWI is seen as having paved the way for the horrors of the Holocaust. 
  
  French Troops driving back the Germans in 1918 

During World War I, Jewish communities faced devastation, displacement, and persecution, especially in Eastern Europe. The war also contributed to a rise in antisemitism that had tragic consequences later. 

As the perennial scapegoat, the Jews were also blamed by many for the Bolshevik coup d’etat of October 1917; approximately 100,000 Jews were killed in the anti‑Bolshevik campaigns conducted by Ukrainians, Poles, and Russians.

 update:  6/29/25 8:44am:  The Pale of Settlement was a territory within the Russian Empire where Jews were permitted to reside permanently, encompassing roughly 472,590 square miles (1,224,008 sq km). This area included parts or the whole of modern-day Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Moldova. 

• Jewish Service in WWI: Despite facing pervasive antisemitism and discrimination, many Jews served in World War I, including in the German and Allied armies. Some were even overrepresented on the front lines, according to a German "Jewish census" conducted in 1916. 

Resource:

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/wwi-and-the-jews/#:~:text=As%20the%20perennial%20scapegoat%2C%20the,map%20of%20the%20Jewish%20people.

https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/antisemitism-and-pogromsin-the-military-russian-empire/