The Stereotype of Zydokomuna (“Jewish Communism”) and it’s Development during WWI and the First Years of Independent Poland

The stereotype of the “Jewish-Communism” (Polish żydokomuna) to a great extent determined the Polish-Jewish relations throughout the interwar period, during WWII and even in the postwar period. Although the beginnings of such a perception of Jews in the Polish lands can be sought before, they gained momentum in 1917/1918, the Polish-Bolshevik War and the first years of independent Poland.

The Russian revolutions, especially the Bolshevik one turned out to be the extremely important factors shaping the social and political reality as well as the Polish-Jewish relations. The Jewish presence in the management of the new Russian administration and their engagement in the workers’ movement became a reason for accusing them of propagating communism. Although this engagement was exaggerated, it became the second – after economic matters – catalyst of the worsening of the Polish-Jewish relations. The stereotype of “żydokomuna” took hold quickly and the Polish Jews – also those who were far away from “making revolution”, i.e. majority of them – had to pay for it. The War of 1920 and engagement of some Jewish youth on the Bolsheviks’ side as well as a relatively high percentage of Jews in the Polish Communist Party was an additional factor of worsening of the mutual relations. The results were escalation of radical anti-Semitism in the Polish lands in 1918-1920 (including pogroms) and reluctant attitude of the Polish governments and society towards the Jewish repatriates and refugees from Russia.

A chronological upper limit of the paper is 1926 (Piłsudski’s coup d`état).