History of The Jews in 18th-century Poland - First Partition

First Partition

Disorder and anarchy reigned supreme in Poland during the second half of the 18th century, from the accession to the throne of its last king, Stanislaus II Augustus Poniatowski (1764–1795). This state of affairs was due to the haughty demeanor of the nobility toward the lower classes. The necessity for reform was recognized by the king and by many of the Commonwealth citizens; but Poland was already in the grasp of Russia, and little could be done in this direction. Jewish affairs were sadly neglected, the government seeking merely the extortion of larger taxes; thus the Sejm which met at Warsaw in 1764 for the discussion of measures of reform considered the Jews only to the extent of changing the tax system. About this time, and as a direct consequence of the disorganization of Poland, the disastrous incursions of the brigand bands known as the Haidamaka took place. The movement originated in Podolia and in that part of Ukraine which still belonged to Poland.

These and other internal disorders combined to hasten the end of Poland as a sovereign state. In 1772, in the aftermath of the Confederation of Bar, the outlying provinces were divided among the three neighboring nations, Russia, Austria, and Prussia. Russia secured a considerable part of the territory now known as Belarus; Austria obtained Galicia and a part of Podolia; while Prussia received Pomerelia and the lands lying along the lower Vistula. Jews were most numerous in the territories that fell to the lot of Austria and Russia.

The permanent council established at the instance of the Russian government (1773–1788) served as the highest administrative tribunal, and occupied itself with the elaboration of a plan that would make practicable the reorganization of Poland on a more rational basis. The progressive elements in Polish society recognized the urgency of popular education as the very first step toward reform. In 1773 the Society of Jesus in Poland was abolished by Pope Clement XIV, who thus freed Polish youth from the demoralizing influences of Jesuitism. The famous Komisja Edukacji Narodowej ("Commission of National Education"), first Ministry of Education in the world, was established in 1773 and founded numerous new schools and remodeled the old ones. One of the members of the commission, kanclerz Andrzej Zamoyski, along with others, demanded that the inviolability of their persons and property should be guaranteed and that religious toleration should be to a certain extent granted them; but he insisted that Jews living in the cities should be separated from the Christians, that those of them having no definite occupation should be banished from the kingdom, and that even those engaged in agriculture should not be allowed to possess land. On the other hand, some szlachta and intellectuals proposed a national system of government, of the civil and political equality of the Jews. This was the only example in modern Europe before the French Revolution of tolerance and broad-mindedness in dealing with the Jewish question. On 3 May 1791 the Great Sejm passed the second oldest constitution of the world, the Polish Constitution of 3rd May. But all these reforms were too late. Through the intrigues and bribery of Catherine II of Russia the Confederation of Targowica was formed, to which belonged the adherents of the old order of things. A Russian army invaded Poland, and soon after a Prussian one followed.