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Trade
The first Jews to arrive in Poland were merchants,
the Radanici who came as early as the tenth century. Merchants
who established trade colonies also became the first permanent
settlers. The Jews' trading and mercantile activities are
confirmed by the oldest known records noting any Jewish
presence in the Polish lands. By the twelfth century, the Jews
had become so important that they were named in the customs
tariff of 1226 of the customs post in Siewierz, on the
west-east trade route, as well as in Olesno, on the route from
Morava to Kujawy. It mentioned Jews from Poland as well as
those from other countries.
The oldest privileges
issued by the Polish authorities (Kalisz privilege) guaranteed
freedom for traders throughout the country. This allowed Jews
to engage in wholesale and retail trade, both locally and
farther afield. They played an important role in trade with
the Muslim countries (primarily Turkey), where Christian
merchants' access was hindered for religious reasons. In the
fifteenth century, long-distance trade developed to the east
and north. The Tatar raids led to the fall of the main towns
of Kievan Rus', including Kiev, which meant a shift in trade
routes and an increased significance for Lwow. Jews from Red
Rus' (Eastern Galicia) and Wolyn (Volhynia) (from Lwow,
Drohobycz, Luck and Wlodzimierz) participated in trade with
cities on the Black Sea and in Asia. A source dated 1440
mentions Jews from Kaffa and Lwow who founded trading
companies. Lithuanian Jews from Troki, Grodno and Brzesc
provided Baltic ports (especially Gdansk) with eastern goods
as well as domestic grain, furs, hides, wax, tar and ash. In
addition, they gained trading rights in areas belonging to the
Teutonic order. Jewish merchants from Mazovia also went to
Gdansk.
Jews maintained trade contacts with many of
Poland's neighbors. They and bought horses in Hungary, and
brought oxen from Moldavia, which they then sold at Silesian
fairs. Many sources mention their activities in
Constantinople, Venice, Florence, Hamburg, Frankfurt an der
Oder, Leipzig, Moscow and Riga, and even in far-off Asian
cities.
The fact that there were Jewish Communitites
scattered throughout many countries made these activities
easier for Jewish traders, sometimes acting as trading posts.
In the Commonwealth, too, Jewish traders could count on help
from the Communities, whose responsibility it was to help
travelling Jews, though few were involved in long-distance
trade. Most limited their activities to local markets, where
they sold various foods and crafts. The wealthier Jews had
shops on the ground floors, the poorer ones had booths and
stalls. Often, they would simply hawk their wares on the
street. Jewish artisans also sold their own products.
The development of Jewish trade, facilitated by
various privileges and also by the exclusion of Jews from the
control of Christian merchants' guilds, gave rise to
increasing conflict with Christian merchants. As a result,
cities strove to limit Jews' trading rights, particularly in
larger cities. The first bans were issued by the Silesian
princes as early as the early fourteenth century. Theirs was a
ban on retail sales of broadcloth in Wroclaw and Glogow. On
the basis of an agreement signed in 1485 in Krakow, Jews were
forced to relinquish their trading rights. From that time,
they could only engage in the sale of pawned goods that had
not been reclaimed, and of caps and collars produced by Jewish
artisans. In 1488, Kazimierz IV Jagiellon limited Jews'
trading rights in Lwow, limiting Jews to wholesale trade and
the sale of pawned goods.
In 1521, the largest Polish
cities formed a coalition whose aim was to curtail Jewish
trade. Some of the cities even demanded that Jews be
completely expelled from their territories, allowing them to
trade on fair and market days.
The bans on Jewish
trade were annulled many times, only to be subsequently
renewed. Jewish merchants tried to evade the restrictions that
were impairing their ability to function. Attempts were made
to normalize the situation by concluding agreements between
cities and Jewish Communities. Such was the case in 1581 for
example in Lwow, when an agreement was made for a period of
eight years. Most of the Polish rulers confirmed the
privileges that allowed Jews to freely run their businesses.
The restrictions announced by those same rulers only affected
a few cities. Some kings, despite the bans they themselves had
issued, accorded special privileges to certain Jewish
merchants who were serving their own court.
The
burghers did not make concerted efforts to squelch their
Jewish competition, since the rivalry between cities was also
strong. Despite the bans that existed, they rented shops and
storage space to Jews. The szlachta (Polish nobility) allowed
Jews to operate freely within the jurydyki (the private areas
that were excluded from the jurisdiction of municipal
authorities).
Beginning in the sixteenth century, they
played an important role as mediators in the sale of goods
produced on the noble estates. Their services were used by the
majority of the large landholders and the most influential
magnates, including the Radziwills, Ostrogskis, Wisniowieckis,
Potockis, Zamoyskis and Opalinskis.
The Jews played a
special role in the Commonwealth's southeastern voivodships.
They mediated in the sale of grain and forest products, such
as wood, ash and wax. They sent these products not only to
Gdansk, but also to the ports of Koenigsberg and Riga.
From the second half of the seventeenth century,
Jewish merchants from Wielkopolska participated in the fairs
at Leipzig and Frankfurt an der Oder with increasing
frequency. From the early eighteenth century, the largest
Communities of Wielkopolska maintained permanent commercial
agents in Gdansk and Wroclaw.
The economic crisis that
hit the Commonwealth in the first half of the eighteenth
century hampered the development of large-scale Jewish trade,
but the most important merchants from Lwow, Brody and Leszno,
for example, managed to maintain their positions. Small-scale
and local trade played an ever-increasing role. The fall of
Polish cities, the collapse of crafts, and the return of city
dwellers to agricultural activities meant it was easier for
trade to become concentrated in the hands of small-scale
Jewish merchants and small shopkeepers.
(H.W./CM)
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In the late eighteenth century, about 35-38% of
Polish Jews made their living from trade, which can be broken
down into several categories. The first was comprised of
banking, along with suppliers, moneylenders and large-scale
merchants. It is quite difficult to distinguish particular
specializations, because mercantile and banking capital were
intertwined. Large-scale merchants were involved in exporting
raw materials amd agricultural and forest products (such as
potash and lumber) from Poland through Baltic ports. They also
sent oxen, horses and hides to Silesia and Prussia, and
exported wax, lard, and other goods. The most prominent of
these included Szmul Zbytkower, Ajzyk, and Szymon Enochowicz.
They employed several hundred agents who would for example buy
cattle in Podole, Wolyn (Volhynia) and Ukraine, and bring
hides from Lithuania. Oxen and horses intended for resale were
imported to Poland, as were salt, furs, metal products,
copper, silver, cloth, jewelry, precious stones, glass and
porcelain, tobacco, tea and Jewish books.
Jewish
merchants had contacts with other Jews throughout Europe, and
traveled to Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main, Wroclaw and Moscow.
They traded with Turkish merchants, as well as with English
ones, from whom they bought broadcloth. They were involved in
supplying the Polish army with grain, spirits, horses,
uniforms and fodder, in addition to the royal court and
embassies in Warsaw. They also supplied the rebel army in
1794. Jewish merchants grew more important in the Principality
of Warsaw, and contributed to the development of domestic
trade and the spread of commercial contacts between Poland and
Prussia, Silesia and Western Europe.
The numbers of
small-time traders, hawkers, stall-keepers, door-to-door
salesmen and middlemen were even greater, making up about 40%
of all Jewish traders. Jews also worked in related
professions, such as running inexpensive restaurants and
cafes.
Because the partitions each had a different
legal system, Jews began to be employed in a greater variety
of professions. This was particularly apparent in trade. The
textile industry and related trading activities were seriously
undermined because the Prussian partition was cut off by a
border from the rest of the Polish lands, which had been a
significant market.
In 1815, in the Principality of
Posen, large population of Jews there (63.3% of the total
population) was involved in trade and credit. Later, however,
this percentage shrank considerably; this tendency continued
until the late 1870's and early 1880's. Polish-Jewish
competition in trade was growing, and was linked to the Poles'
own efforts to strengthen their role in economics and culture,
often giving rise to expressions of anti-Semitism. This in
turn brought about a fall in the number of Jewish merchants in
Wielkopolska - in 1882, they comprised 36.6% of traders; by
1907, this figure was just 21.3%.
In the Austrian
partition, Jews, who had suffered greatly as the result of the
wars of the eighteenth century, found themselves in a
difficult economic situation. In 1776, Empress Maria Theresa
issued the Judenordnung, which banned Jews from trading in
articles that were subject to the state monopoly, as well as
from engaging in certain activities, while at the same time
subjecting them to additional taxes. Nevertheless, the
situation improved in the 1870's and 1880's as agriculture
developed, which also brought increased trade.
Jewish
merchants were prominent in the trade of cattle, feathers,
bristles, poultry and rags. Most of the trading in Galicia,
particularly in its eastern regions, took place in small
Jewish shops run by the owner and his family. In the early
twentieth century, Jews began losing their position in
Galician trade. The cooperative movement was gaining ground,
both among Poles and Ukrainians. The regional authorities,
dominated by Polish conservatives, supported these
developments.
In 1911, concessions were required in
order to trade in alcoholic drinks; only 8,000 Jews were
granted them, which meant that approximately 40,000 lost their
source of livelihood. Jews were no longer allowed to trade in
salt (a state monopoly), their ability to work on Sunday was
limited (due to the law forbidding work on Sunday), and they
were banned from the cattle trade.
In the early nineteenth
century, most Polish Jews were living in the Russian
partition. The pattern of Jewish employment changed as the
result of new legal restrictions, just as had been the case in
Galicia. Jews were excluded from trade in rural areas. The
poorest engaged in small-scale trade in towns, and sometimes
in crafts; the wealthier tried to adapt and find new
possibilities in the changed conditions. A small but quite
powerful financial elite formed, and renewed contacts in
Russia and Europe. According to the 1897 census, as many as
79.2% of all those employed in "trade, credit and insurance"
were Jewish. Jews were also involved in the trade of grain
(93.5%), hides and furs (90.6%), metals, machines and weapons
(83%), clothing (82%), and cattle (80.5%), as well as textile
products, paper and technological products, books, lumber,
poultry, bristle products, watches and toys. Trade in the
Kingdom of Poland was closely tied to the Russian market,
especially insofar as the export of textiles and clothing was
concerned. Most of the Jews engaged in trade were small-time
businessmen whose activities brought only limited profits;
they were involved in retail sales, running small shop or
stalls, or were traveling salesmen serving the impoverished
countryside.
As in the other partitions, in the
Kingdom of Poland, competition from Christian merchants also
began to increased during the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, prompted by societal changes in the wake
of the January Uprising and urbanization. In addition, there
was an influx of people from the countryside and members of
the Polish petty-bourgeoisie into the trade-related
professions, such as trade in technological, chemical and
textile products, and in the food sector.
At the start of
the First World War, a large portion of the Russian partition
was under German occupation. The Germans confiscated most raw
materials and means of production, and introduced rationing of
foodstuffs. Coal, ores, lumber and salt became monopolies; the
private slaughter of cattle was banned, as was the trade in
grain. These steps in effect eliminated private trade.
The
Austrians implemented similar policies. The only sectors of
trade that continued to function well were those serving the
army. Speculation in foodstuffs and manufactured goods was
booming. |
on the internet
Text from Alina Cala, Hanna Wegrzynek and
Gabriela Zalewska: "Historia i kultura Zydow polskich.
Slownik", edited by WSiP
After 1918, when Poland regained its independence,
the Jews played an important role in rebuilding economic life,
despite the enormous wartime losses. Thanks to them, the
clothing industry and related branches could be rebuilt
quickly. In 1919-1920, the underclothing and shoe industries
were reestablished. Jewish watchmakers continued to cooperate
with Swiss firms. Medium- and small-scale trade not requiring
large amounts of start-up capital was established.
Nevertheless, the Jewish role in trade diminished
throughout the interwar period. The economic crisis after the
First World War forced some to find work in other areas of the
economy. State policies did not help the Jewish merchants,
since they were designed to support Polish participation in
various sectors of the economy. The official attitude was that
"Jewish trade" as a separate economic phenomenon had no
justification, because both the suppliers and consumers were
non-Jewish, despite the fact that Jewish business activities
were an integral part of Poland's economy. In 1931, trade and
insurance employed 36.6% of the Jewish workforce, which was
58.7% of the total number of people employed in those two
branches. In the 1930's, these indicators fell significantly,
the result of the continuing depression and also the economic
boycott advocated by the national camp. Jews were most active
as hawkers and door-to-door salesmen, and somewhat less in
retail; they were least active in wholesale trade and credit.
Within the different branches, strictly "Jewish"
specializations existed as well. In the foodstuffs trade, Jews
dealt heavily in flour, groats, rice and fish. Shops selling
sweets, fruits and vegetables were split equally between
Jewish and Christian shopkeepers. Few Jews ran shops selling
beer and alcoholic drinks, which required a state-issued
concession. Jews owned most of the shops selling furniture and
wood products. In the chemical branch, Jews dominated pharmacy
warehouses and soap, dye and lacquer shops. Their role
Poland-wide in the metal goods trade was over 60%, while in
the watch-making and jewelry branch, they made up 68.7%. Most
shopkeepers in the clothing trade as a whole were Jewish,
including those selling cloth, furs, machine knits, ready-made
clothing, hats and caps, shoes and leather.
Trade's
territorial patterns had developed during the partitions, and
did not change much during the interwar period. The west of
Poland had the fewest number of Jewish traders, though in the
1930’s they began moving into those areas as well. They played
a large role in the towns and cities of the central
voivodships, but it was in the east that their numbers were
most numerous. The economic backwardness of the countryside in
the east meant that trade was most primitive there, with a low
profit margin.
In the villages, cooperative shops
opened at the initiative of the national parties and the
Church. These competed with private trade, and usually went
hand in hand with agitation for the economic boycott. The
boycott was often accompanied by anti-Semitic excesses, and
sometimes even pogroms. The boycott, approved by the sanacja
government in 1936-1939, had a negative impact on Jewish
traders. Poor merchants and artisans were not able to sustain
their enterprises. The number of déclassé petty-bourgeois Jews
increased. These individuals then had to depend on charity and
material assistance from abroad.
During the Second
World War, Jews were deprived of the right to own any property
whatsoever. When the Germans occupied Poland, they confiscated
the Jewish-owned warehouses, industrial plants and larger
shops, leaving them with only the smallest shops and crafts
workshops, which had to be marked with a Star of David.
During the deportation actions that took place as the
ghettos were being created, the deportees were allowed only
personal baggage (20-30 kg). The ghettos' only shops dealt in
food rations. In these conditions, the black market and
smuggling played an important role-as the only way to
supplement the starvation-level rations.
In the Soviet
zone, private firms were taken over by the state, middlemen
were replaced with central distribution, and retail
black-market trade quickly died out, for a lack of goods.
In People's Poland, among the few Jews who survived the
Holocaust, trade-related professions were no longer as
important as they had been before the war. As the result of
the nationalization of industry and trade, it was not easy to
reclaim the companies confiscated by the Germans during the
war. Private trade was of only marginal importance, employing
just 5% of all Jews in the workforce (approximately
1,000-1,500 people in 1947-48). Although they were active in
the black market, as a supplementary activity, not much is
known on the subject. The only information available is
contained in the decisions handed down by special courts in
"speculation" cases.
The Central Committee of Jews in
Poland, as part of "productivization" (i.e., employment in
production), organized trade cooperatives, such as the one
known as the Central Economic "Solidarity", which included
twenty-four department stores (1948). As early as 1949, all
the Jewish cooperatives were nationalized. By 1968, several
dozen Jewish specialists worked in central state trade and
economic offices. Most, however, were forced into emigration
as a result of the purges and harassment during the
anti-Semitic campaign launched by the communist regime in
1968.
(G.Z./CM)
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