Authors

Discussion

The paper will attempt to interpret the evolution of the Polish Jewish elite, with particular emphasis on the elite circles of Warsaw, over the course of the “long 20th century”. The key point of reference for the analysis will be the changing political, cultural, and, above all, economic relations in the Polish lands and the resulting changes in the configuration of the Polish elites. Against such a background, the changing status and identity of elite Jewish families in Polish lands will be analyzed. One of the main conclusions is the change of the nature of the Polish-Jewish elite as mentioned in the title: from bourgeois at the turn of the 19th century to intelligentsia at the turn of the 20th century.

On the example of the history of selected families whose documented history dates back to at least the 19th century, as well as research on contemporary representatives of the Jewish intelligentsia, continuities and discontinuities in family tradition, property and social status and identity will be shown. The results of this study can also be interpreted as an insight into the long-term evolutionary processes of the Polish elite, particularly at the end of communism and after its collapse.