Research Catalog

Title

The lesser of two evils : Eastern European Jewry under Soviet rule, 1939-1941 / Dov Levin ; translated by Naftali Greenwood ; with a foreword by Mordechai Altshuler.

Author

Levin, Dov, 1925-2016

Publication

• Philadelphia : The Jewish Publication Society, [1995]
• ©1995.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Greenwood, Naftali
• Altshuler, Mordechai

Description

xx, 346 pages : illustrations, map; 25 cm

Summary

The book's title, "The Lesser of Two Evils," describes the dilemma and ultimate fate of the two million Eastern European Jews following the infamous Ribbentrop-Molotov pact of August, 1939, which divided the regions of eastern Poland, the Baltics, and eastern Romania between Nazi Germany and the U.S.S.R. Because of the imminent geographical and political changes, the Jews in these areas had to calculate who was the "lesser of two evils" - the Soviets or the Nazis. The book, originally published in Hebrew, is the culmination of 30 years of research by noted historian Dov Levin. It is the only study that deals comprehensively with the economic, social, religious, cultural, and political consequences of this overlooked episode in modern history. In order to obtain an authentic account, the author interviewed hundreds of witnesses and consulted thousands of original documents in 13 languages. The book also portrays the everyday life of the Jewish communities at that time. The events that occurred during this significant period in Jewish history led directly to the destruction of the Jewish populations of these regions in the Holocaust.

Uniform Title

Teḳufah ba-sograyim. English

Alternative Title

• Teḳufah ba-sograyim.
• Eastern European Jewry under Soviet rule, 1939-1941

Subject

• 1900-1999
• Jews > Poland > History > 20th century
• Jews > Baltic States > History > 20th century
• Jews > Bessarabia (Moldova and Ukraine) > History > 20th century
• Jews > Soviet Union > History
• Ethnic relations
• Jews
• Besatzungspolitik
• Joden
• Jews > Baltic States > History > 20th century
• Jews > Bessarabia (Moldova and Ukraine) > History > 20th century
• Jews > Poland > History > 20th century
• Jews > Soviet Union > History
• Soviet Union > History > 1939-1945
• Europe, Eastern > Ethnic relations
• Baltic States
• Europe > Bessarabia
• Eastern Europe
• Poland
• Soviet Union
• Osteuropa
• Sowjetunion
• Europe, Eastern > Ethnic relations
• Soviet Union > History > 1939-1945
• Juden

Genre/Form

• History
• Instructional and educational works.
• Matériel d'éducation et de formation.

Note

• ‏תרגום של: תקופה בסוגריים.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [304]-337) and index.

Contents

Foreword / Mordecai Altshuler -- Preface -- Historical background ; The sovietization of Eastern Europe -- The Jewish population of Eastern Europe at the dawn of World War II -- First reactions ; Eastern Poland -- The Baltic countries -- Northeastern Romania -- Identification and integration ; Jews in Soviet governing institutions -- Jews in elected office -- Inside the Communist Party apparatus -- Relations between the Jewish minority and the authorities and local peoples -- The economy and society ; Nationalization and expropriations -- Labor market -- New patterns of livelihood -- Standard and quality of living -- Education and research institutions ; Adoption of new patterns -- Curricula and teaching methods -- Sociopolitical functions -- Friction and manifestations of protest -- Institutions of Yiddish culture -- Cultural life ; The press : pressed into service -- Literature and litterateurs -- The theater -- Religious life -- Refugees in a temporary haven ; Refugee relief -- Recruitment for labor in the Soviet interior -- "Passportization" and its consequences -- Internment and deportation -- Lithuania as a gateway to the free world ; The ingathering of Polish refugees to Vilna (October, 1939-June 15, 1940) -- Soviet rule (June 15, 1940-June 22, 1941) -- Escape from Lithuania -- Emigration of refugees from Soviet Lithuania : contributing factors -- Afterword : the Soblen brothers affair -- The encounter with Soviet Jewry ; Social relations -- Cultural relations -- Visits by authors -- Zionist underground activity ; The underground press -- Internal structure and modus operandi -- Overview : the five stages of underground activities -- Summary -- Exacting justice with "hostile" elements -- The German invasion -- Conclusion ; Implications of Sovietization on Jews living in the annexed areas during the Nazi invasion.

ISBN

• 0827605188
• 9780827605183

LCCN

95018725

OCLC

• ocm32465195
• 32465195
• SCSB-2063982

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library