Zmiany w sytuacji prawnej Żydów na ziemiach zaboru rosyjskiego w pierwszej połowie XIX wieku (do 1862 r.)

Abstract

The history of the Jewish people in Poland has been a constant fight for their rights and privileges. It was particularly strong in the 19th century when it started with a few pledges sent by wealthy representatives of the Jewish community to the authorities of the Kingdom. They were denied because of the lack of knowledge of the Jewish culture and tradition as well as for the advantage of the rich bourgeois and the upper class. However, the changes done in the economic and social spheres put forward the Jewish question as the second most important, after the peasantry, social issue of the 19th century. The imperial edict in June 1862 was the first act of the Jewish emancipation in the kingdom. It was a result of the aspirations of the government and it served as a tool to gain Jewish support for the tsarism. The execution of the emancipation act was strongly influenced by the attempts of certain Jewish social classes starting with the poor participating in political manifestations to the representatives defending Jewish interests in the State Council. The result of such attitudes was most importantly a significant participation of different Jewish groups in armed squads, executive insurgent groups and different forms of help in the uprising.