Angelique Leszczawski-Schwerk

Between the Pillars of Welfare, Cultural Work, Politicization, and Feminism: The Zionist “Circle of Jewish Women” in Lviv, 1908–1939

The Circle of Jewish Women (“Koło Kobiet Żydowskich”), founded in Lemberg/Lviv in 1908 and active until 1939, played a vital role in the organization of Zionist women in the city and other places in Eastern Galicia. It was founded, among others, by Róża Pomeranc Melcer, one of the pioneers of Zionist women’s associations in Galicia and the first and only Jewish woman parliamentarian in the Second Polish Republic. Nevertheless, the history of the Circle, as well as the work of its many active members—many of whom perished in the Holocaust—has been almost forgotten and is rarely explored. The author of the article argues that this organization not only represents social welfare, but it also embodies elements of social support, cultural work, politicization, and feminism. Therefore, the author emphasizes the role the Circle played in the process of organizing Zionist women in Lviv and Galicia before World War I and especially during the interwar period in the Second Polish Republic, and how it contributed to women’s emancipation. Thus, the history of one of the most important Zionist women’s organizations is reconstructed and its versatile work facets explored in more detail.

* Niniejszy artykuł stanowi poprawionąi skróconą wersję dwóch rozdziałów na temat organizacji syjonistycznej, które zostaną opublikowane w antologii Women Zionists Worldwide, 1897–1945 Miry Yungman (w przygotowaniu). Częściowo powstał także na podstawie prezentacji przedstawionej na konferencji Kobieta żydowska – nowe badania i perspektywy badawcze (Kraków, 26–28 kwietnia 2021).

** Tłumaczenie z języka angielskiego: Anna Nienartowicz