The First World War marked a profound turning point in Eastern European and Jewish history, which only recently gained sustained scholarly attention. Examine the dramatic upheaval experienced by Jewish civilians in the Russian Empire, focusing on the extensive relief efforts created to support displaced communities. Mass displacement reshaped nearly every aspect of Jewish life, including education, labor, family structure, gender roles, and material culture. Explore how wartime relief networks fostered new leaders and institutions that continued to shape Jewish communal life in the interwar period and, later, during the challenges faced by Jewish communities in the Holocaust.
Optional reading: A Nation of Refugees: Russia’s Jews in World War I, Polly Zavadivker