The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

The “Belorussianisation” of the Jewish population during the interwar period: discourses and achievements in political and cultural spheres

The “Belorussianisation” of the Jewish population during the interwar period: discourses and achievements in political and cultural spheres
The “Belorussianisation” of the Jewish population during the interwar period: discourses and achievements in political and cultural spheres
The relationship and cultural transfer between Jews and Belorussians are still rather unexplored topics. This article aims at analysing a historical process neglected by the historians of both the Jewish people and the Soviet Union: the “Belorussianisation” of the Jewish people in the interwar period. It proposes to scrutinise the impact of the nationalities policy on the crystallisation of a Belorussian-Jewish identity. On the one hand, it is obvious that Belorussian leading political figures, influenced by Jewish intellectuals, proved to be very favourable to the development of the Jewish culture and to a Jewish-Belorussian rapprochement. On the other hand, this study suggests that the achievements of the Soviet nationalities policy with regard to the “Belorussianisation” of Jews were ambiguous. In the three fields studied - education, scholarship and art - the results appeared to be mitigated and paradoxical. The “indigenisation” policy led to a separation of the Jewish and Belorussian educational system but stimulated the flourishing of a joined Belorussian-Jewish scholarship. In contrast, the most profound and fruitful encounter between the Jewish and Belorussian cultures occurred in a domain, the visual arts, where the Belorussian government did not set a clear policy of rapprochement.
belorussia, bssr, bnr, jewish/non-jewish relationships, nationalities policy, jewish identity
1350-1674
65-88
Le Foll, Claire
01932669-681d-4e42-afa2-7f438d49dcc8
Le Foll, Claire
01932669-681d-4e42-afa2-7f438d49dcc8

Le Foll, Claire (2008) The “Belorussianisation” of the Jewish population during the interwar period: discourses and achievements in political and cultural spheres. East European Jewish Affairs, 38 (1), 65-88. (doi:10.1080/13501670801897510).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The relationship and cultural transfer between Jews and Belorussians are still rather unexplored topics. This article aims at analysing a historical process neglected by the historians of both the Jewish people and the Soviet Union: the “Belorussianisation” of the Jewish people in the interwar period. It proposes to scrutinise the impact of the nationalities policy on the crystallisation of a Belorussian-Jewish identity. On the one hand, it is obvious that Belorussian leading political figures, influenced by Jewish intellectuals, proved to be very favourable to the development of the Jewish culture and to a Jewish-Belorussian rapprochement. On the other hand, this study suggests that the achievements of the Soviet nationalities policy with regard to the “Belorussianisation” of Jews were ambiguous. In the three fields studied - education, scholarship and art - the results appeared to be mitigated and paradoxical. The “indigenisation” policy led to a separation of the Jewish and Belorussian educational system but stimulated the flourishing of a joined Belorussian-Jewish scholarship. In contrast, the most profound and fruitful encounter between the Jewish and Belorussian cultures occurred in a domain, the visual arts, where the Belorussian government did not set a clear policy of rapprochement.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 31 March 2008
Published date: April 2008
Keywords: belorussia, bssr, bnr, jewish/non-jewish relationships, nationalities policy, jewish identity
Organisations: History, Jewish History and Culture

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 73644
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/73644
ISSN: 1350-1674
PURE UUID: d5c616fd-594a-4e36-9b49-19ebb9bc76e5
ORCID for Claire Le Foll: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2261-6431

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 15 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:55

Export record

Altmetrics

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×