Same Situation, Different Behavior: The Case of GDL Towns after the Fire in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century

Several important pieces of documents, which preserved massive data about social and economic life of the Jews of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were composed in the second half of the 18th century. The complex analysis of these sources helped to evaluate the change of the size of Jewish population in the particular places, damaged by the fire; it allowed to compare the financial capacity of local Jewish and Christian populations (at least of those who suffered from fire) and the size and structure of loses they suffered. It is in the case of the Jews when we have to speak about both personal loses and an important number of goods they lost during the fire, which caused a collapse of their personal livelihoods and their business. It is likely, that Jews, who lived in rented houses or apartments, were keen to choose other strategies of further existence than their Christian neighbors. In the circumstances of local economical decline, big loses of goods, personal livelihoods the recovery of family household and business looked long-lasting and uncertain perspective.This presentation will examine the questions what was the strategy of behavior of Christians and Jews after the fire in particular towns; what long-lasting affect in social and economic sphere did it have for different groups of this socio-economic model: the family of the Jews who suffered from fire, local Jewish community and the town.