The Old Country: The Lost World of East European Jews

by Abraham Shulman

Old Country, The: The Lost World Of East European Jews, by Shulman, Abraham This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684140179
• ISBN13: 9780684140179
• Release Date: January 1974
• Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Photographic history of the shtetl Jews

The events of centuries of persecution and forced migrations led to a concentration of Jews in Eastern Europe in the years before World War II. To maintain a distinct culture, they established communities known as "shtetls" which were generally self-sufficient enclaves. This book is a collection of photographs of members of those Jewish communities, largely as they went about their daily lives. The members of this community were very class conscious, there was a distinct hierarchy of occupations, and with the highest being that of a scholar. Woman were second class citizens, one of the daily prayers of the men gave thanks to God that they were not born a woman. One of the most interesting facts is that these communities did not require a police force. The social restrictions were so strong that the community leaders were able to deal with almost all-social deviance. Since time and tragic world events have combined to destroy the shtetl communities in Eastern Europe, this is an important historical record of how the Jews of Eastern Europe lived. We see them at work, at leisure, in their homes, but very rarely at play. Their lives were full, and you can see their strong survival instincts in these photographs.