The Jews of Poland tells the story of the development and growth of Polish Jewry from its beginnings, around the year 1200, when it numbered a few score people, to about six hundred years later, when it totaled a million or more people. This books records the development of this Jewish community. It attempts to capture the uniqueness of each period in the history of this community. In recounting the saga of Polish Jewry, the book endeavors to see Polish Jews as human beings acting and reacting humanly to the exigencies of life with courage and weakness, high ideals, beliefs, and sacrifices, on one hand, and human fraility, passions, and ambitions, on the other.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Well written history of Jews in Poland:
Overall, I'd say this is an excellent start if you're interested in the history of Jews in Poland. Personally, I wasn't very interested in the few chapters that deal almost solely with religious matters, (the last three chapters, mainly) but otherwise, this book was an excellent introduction for me on the subject. To begin, the exact date of the first Jewish settlement or when the first Jews came to Polish territory cannot be ascertained for sure. But the 13th and 14th centuries are rife with sources that... more info
