Jewish Emigration From Communist Poland: The Decline of Polish Jewry in the Aftermath of the Holocaust

Abstract

This article takes stock of the prime catalyst behind the shrinking and transformation of the Jewish populace in communist Poland – emigration. Over the course of four major waves, nearly a quarter of a million Jews left the country, most of whom headed to Israel. On the basis of recent scholarship and the author’s own research on migrations from communist Poland, he gauges the magnitude of and discusses key factors behind this exodus, not least Polish Jewry’s time- and place-specific considerations, the emerging shape of Warsaw’s relevant policies, and the social dynamics of these outflows.

Keywords: Poland; 1945–1989; Jews; emigration; communist regime; migration policy; social networks; antisemitism; Zionism