The Image of a Wealthy Jewish Family in the Anti-Semitic Polish Weekly Rola

Agnieszka Friedrich

Titles

The Image of a Wealthy Jewish Family in the Anti-Semitic Polish Weekly Rola

Abstract

For more than six years, Rola – a Warsaw periodical that appeared weekly from 1883 to 1912 with a circulation of two thousand copies – published a series of articles about the position of wealthy Jewish families in Polish society. This series was commissioned by editor-in-chief Jan Jeleński and was of a quasi-documentary character (fictional but based on facts from real Jewish families with changed names). The title of the series was “Podskarbiowie Narodu” [The Treasurers of the Nation].

The vocabulary used in this series expressed the phobias and anxieties of Rola’s staff, among which the biggest was the fear that Jewish families would take over Polish society and infect it with cynical philosophy, ruled by money. This would confirm the negative stereotype of the Jew always preoccupied with money and chasing after a “golden calf.”

Jeleński and his colleagues believed that the Jewish nature was different than the Polish one, being based on lower-level values and therefore very dangerous. Once infected, Polish families could later imitate that cynical approach. They were also afraid of the way Jewish families supported each other strongly. Jeleński perceived this support – though of great value for the Jews themselves – as a great threat. He worried that Jewish families grew stronger and united, building a new kind of clan of a nouveau-riche character based on fictitious splendor and dominant influence.

For more than six years, Rola – a Warsaw periodical that appeared weekly from 1883 to 1912 with a circulation of two thousand copies – published a series of articles about the position of wealthy Jewish families in Polish society. This series was commissioned by editor-in-chief Jan Jeleński and was of a quasi-documentary character (fictional but based on facts from real Jewish families with changed names). The title of the series was “Podskarbiowie Narodu” [The Treasurers of the Nation].

The vocabulary used in this series expressed the phobias and anxieties of Rola’s staff, among which the biggest was the fear that Jewish families would take over Polish society and infect it with cynical philosophy, ruled by money. This would confirm the negative stereotype of the Jew always preoccupied with money and chasing after a “golden calf.”

Jeleński and his colleagues believed that the Jewish nature was different than the Polish one, being based on lower-level values and therefore very dangerous. Once infected, Polish families could later imitate that cynical approach. They were also afraid of the way Jewish families supported each other strongly. Jeleński perceived this support – though of great value for the Jews themselves – as a great threat. He worried that Jewish families grew stronger and united, building a new kind of clan of a nouveau-riche character based on fictitious splendor and dominant influence.

Keywords

Jewish family, anti-Semitism, the image of the Jew

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY

a) Press

“Rola” 1883-1912.

b) Secondary literature

Cała, A. (2012), Żyd-wróg odwieczny? Antysemityzm w Polsce i jego źródła, Warszawa.

Ćwierćwiecze walki. Księga pamiątkowa „Roli”, Warszawa 1910.

Domagalska, M. (2004), Zabawa w chowanego. Antoni Skrzynecki wobec Żydów, in: G. Borkowska, M. Rudkowska (eds.), Kwestia żydowska w XIX wieku. Spory o tożsamość Polaków, Warszawa: pp. 307-318.

Domagalska, M. (2006): Czy to we krwi płynie? Małżeństwa mieszane w twórczości Antoniego Skrzyneckiego, Prace Polonistyczne 61: pp. 167-174.

Domagalska, M. (2008), Kreacje bohaterów żydowskich w antysemickiej prozie na łamach „Roli”, in: K. Pilarczyk (ed.), Żydzi i judaizm we współczesnych badaniach polskich, vol. 4, Kraków: pp. 377-390.

Domagalska, M. (2012), Nawróceni? Konwertyci w wybranych polskich powieściach przełomu XIX i XX wieku, in: A. Jagodzińska (ed.), W poszukiwaniu religii doskonałej? Konwersja a Żydzi, Wrocław: pp. 187-198.

Eisenbach, A. (1983), Raport o położeniu i strukturze ludności żydowskiej w Królestwie Kongresowym w latach osiemdziesiątych XIX wieku, in: A. Eisenbach, Z dziejów ludności żydowskiej w Polsce w XVIII i XIX wieku. Studia i szkice, Warszawa.

Friedrich, A. (2003), Żydzi, Niemcy i Polacy w publicystyce Bolesława Prusa i Jana Jeleńskiego do 1883, in: K. Pilarczyk (ed.), Żydzi i judaizm we współczesnych badaniach polskich, vol. 3, Kraków: pp. 199-213.

Friedrich, A. (2013), The impact of German anti-Semitism of the Polish weekly periodical “Rola”, in: M. Nagiel, M. Zimmermann (eds.), Five Hundred Years of Jew Hatred and Anti-Semitism in the German Press: Manifestations and Reactions, Bremen: pp. 273-282.

Friedrich, A. (2015), Bolesław Prus w zwierciadle „Roli” Jana Jeleńskiego, in: Materiały z konferencji Życie i twórczość Bolesława Prusa z perspektywy 100 lat, forthcoming.

Gajkowska, C. (1997/98), Antoni Skrzynecki, in: Polski Słownik Biograficzny, vol. 38, Wrocław – Warszawa – Kraków: pp. 440-441.

Jagodzińska, A. (2008), Pomiędzy. Akulturacja Żydów Warszawy w drugiej połowie XIX wieku, Wrocław.

Jaszczuk, A. (1986), Spór pozytywistów z konserwatystami o przyszłość Polski 1870-1903, Warszawa.

Kołodziejska, Z. (2014), „Izraelita” (1866-1915). Znaczenie kulturowe i literackie czasopisma, Kraków 2014.

Lewalski, K. (2002), Kościoły chrześcijańskie w Królestwie Polskim wobec Żydów 1855-1915, Wrocław.

Pąkciński, M. (1994), Konserwatyzm na rozdrożu. „Młodzi Konserwatyści” warszawscy wobec ideowych dylematów schyłku XIX wieku, Warszawa.

Information

Information: Scripta Judaica Cracoviensia, 2015, Volume 13, pp. 81 - 92

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/20843925SJ.15.007.4229

Article type: Original article

Titles:

Polish:

The Image of a Wealthy Jewish Family in the Anti-Semitic Polish Weekly Rola

English:

The Image of a Wealthy Jewish Family in the Anti-Semitic Polish Weekly Rola

Authors

Agnieszka Friedrich

Instytut Filologii Polskiej Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego, Poland

Published at: 25.02.2016

Article status: Open

Licence: None

Percentage share of authors:

Agnieszka Friedrich (Author) - 100%

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English

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