Everyday Zionism in East-Central Europe : nation-building in war and revolution, 1914-1920

Abstract

Everyday Zionism in East-Central Europe examines Zionist activism during the years of war, occupation, revolution, the collapse of empires and the formation of nation states in the years 1914 to 1920. Before the background of the Great War, its brutal aftermath and consequent violence, the day-to-day encounters between Zionist activists and the Jewish communities in the region gave the movement credibility, allowed it to win support, and to establish itself as a leading force in Jewish political and social life for decades to come. Through activists’ efforts, Zionism came to mean something new. Rather than being concerned with debates over Jewish nationhood and pioneering efforts in Palestine, it came to be about aiding starving populations, organizing soup-kitchens, establishing orphanages, schools, kindergartens, and hospitals, negotiating with the authorities, and organizing self-defence against violence. It was in this context that the Zionist movement evolved from often marginalized, predominantly bourgeois groups into a mass movement that attracted and inspired tens of thousands of Jews throughout the region. The book approaches the major European events of the period from the dual perspectives of Jewish communities and the Zionist activists on the ground, demonstrating how war, revolution, empire and nation held very different meanings to people, depending on their local circumstances. During the war and its aftermath, the territories of the Habsburg Empire and formerly Russian-ruled regions conquered by the German army saw a large-scale nation-building project by Zionist activists who fought to lead their communities and shape for them a national future.