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Raquel Hodara, “The
Polish Jewish Woman From the Beginning of the Occupation to the
Deportation to the Ghettos”
The article looks at how Jewish women
were affected by the upheavals that characterized the early months
of the Nazi occupation of Poland. It follows the deterioration in
their living conditions and examines how they coped with the
exceptional challenges with which they were confronted. Two central
issues are addressed: the changes that took place in the everyday
lives of women and their self-awareness from the beginning of the
German occupation until they were enclosed in the ghettos; and the
distinctive fate of Jewish women among the occupied civilian female
population. Whereas certain aspects of women’s hardships and
distress, as well as their reactions, were rooted in their gender,
clearly it was their Jewishness, not their gender that determined
their special situation. Among the subjects examined in the article
are: the impact of flight from Poland on the women; the German
authorities’ attitude to men and women; changes in women’s patterns
of behavior; running the household, taking on additional functions,
and acquiring new meaning; the influences of socio-economic
differences; the impact of refugee status - the number of women
among the refugees was far higher than that of the men; a
comparative analysis of Jewish and Polish women. |
