On the Sociology of Polish Jewry

Numerous social, economic, and political forces made post-World War I Poland the most important centre of world Jewry—and Poland’s Jewish community the least prone of all Jewish communities to ethno-religious assimilation. The most important bases of Polish Jewry’s ethno-religious resilience were the community’s high level of population density, residential segregation, socio-economic distinctiveness, political isolation, and institutional autonomy.