Authors

Jan Kutilek¹;  ¹ University of Pardubice, Czech Republic

Discussion

In 1918, as the Habsburg Empire approached its collapse, Galicia faced severe hardships. Food shortages triggered demonstrations and riots with anti-Jewish elements. In the last months, the Imperial authorities and institutions were in a state of anomie, resulting in the looting of Jewish shops and attacks on Jews. However, the worst was yet to come. With the declaration of the independence of the Second Polish Republic, the local population turned violently against their neighbours. The paper examines the escalating anti-Jewish sentiments and violence in the final months of the empire and the violence in the early weeks of independent Poland. While significant research exists on major events like the 1918 Cracow and Lviv pogroms, there remains a gap in understanding the dynamics in smaller Galician towns. The paper concentrates on this less-discussed topic while emphasizing that the anti-Jewish violence did not erupt suddenly in November 1918 but evolved gradually, reaching its peak immediately with Polish independence. By emphasizing the persistent mistreatment of Jews by the local population, the paper offers a comprehensive overview of the anti-Jewish violence in Galicia before and after the empire's collapse. The paper relies on a collection of archival sources from Polish, Austrian, and US archives.