Impact of World War 1 on Jews
Name
Institution
An era before World War 1 broke out; the Jews were in a golden age. For decades they enjoyed peace which resulted in economic growth. This population growth led to an increase in population on the Eastern side. The law of liberal immigration made it easier for the Jews to find new residents foe them overseas, mostly in the United States, and also parts of Europe and the western side. It was only Russia and Romania where the Jews were not granted equal rights before the law. During this period also there was a decline in Jew-hatred.
The war changed all this. The Jews optimism had been ruined, and they were completely disillusioned. In the year 1914, many people encouraged their country to join the war with the aim that the conflict will be for a short time, but instead, the fight went longer than expected, leaving them with many casualties. Many leaders in the military warned of prolonged war which will only bring bloody conflict and may go on for years. The impact of the Jews casualties played a significant role. The women were devastated. The mothers, wives and children were in great shock. The increased tensions developed and deepened a very hostile attitude towards the Jews, mostly in Eastern Europe and in Germany. The Jews were accused of disloyalty and Bolshevism. This led the Jews to find themselves at the mercy of the army who was in occupation at the moment.
When the war commenced, the Jews were, required in the armed forces. The assumption of the old age about the Jews being a worse fighter were forgotten. The Jews were put to the test to prove if they can fight. They had to verify if they were patriots. By joining the war, they show patriotism and great loyalty. Over a million Jews participated in World War 1; however, despite all this, they were accused of contempt. Despite that almost over Jews soldiers served the Russian army, they were still treated as an enemy of the entire population.
As a result, the Russian high command drove the Jews from the pale area in the western part, and this forced thousands of Jews to become homeless by the end of 1915. They suffered poverty and being refugees affected their stability of communal life. The search for food and Jews hunger and their waking hours was all that became their part of interest. Jews children’s who dropped out of school ran wild. Illicit trade on everything dominated, and this included even sex. This kind of business became widespread in Jewish villages and even their cities. Jewish women were forced to sell themselves to Russian in exchange for food. The Russian officials took their women in exchange for food for their families.
When the war was over, it was assumed that the hard times of the Jews were over. Peace started to reign. The league of the nation began experiencing peace. Jew was promised a full right in the United States, and this was made through a treaty. The surety of their safety was fully guaranteed in the new Soviet Union.
Another great agony of the Jews took place when they settled in the Tsarist Empire. The Jews population was 2 million, and this was like 10% of the total population of Ukrainian. The tension between the Jews who were city dwellers and the Ukrainian who was just peasant started to grow. As a result of this, from 1919 to 1920, not a single Jewish, town or city escaped a robbery or plunder. Many Jews became improvised, and many were mutilated, murdered and even raped by Ukraine soldiers.