THE PALE OF SETTLEMENT
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The Pale of Settlement, OR PALE, was the western region of Russia where Jewish people were allowed to live. Within these regions, local laws were permitted. The Jews were not allowed to live in agricultural communities. The Shtetls became "market towns."
Included in THE PALE were the areas known today as Lituania, Belarus, Poland, Moldava, Ukraine and other parts of Western Russia.
There were some cities within this region which were located within the region of THE PALE but not considered part of it. A very limited number of Jews were allowed to live in these cities or outside of THE PALE. These included some Jewish merchants, some with special education, a few artisans and soldiers. However, these people were subject to expulsion to THE PALE at any time.
THE PALE was created by Catherine the Great in 1791 . Most of
the monarchs of Russia before her tried to eliminate Jews from
Imperial Russia totally. Establishing THE PALE, was Catherine's compromise.
LIFE IN THE PALE
The Jewish people living in THE PALE were usually very poor.
There were charitable organizations in the shtetl's of THE PALE to
help people in their daily struggles to live. Living so closely together helped to promote the maintenance of traditional customs. Many of the people living in the Shtetls of THE PALE were highly religious--orthodox.Because the Jews were concentrated in shtetls within THE PALE, they were easy targets for pogroms. Pogroms were attacks
by non-Jewish soldiers. Many Jews were killed during these pogroms. There was a lot of property damage. The worst pogroms took place from 1881-1883, from 1903 to 1906, and just after the Russian Revolution of 1917.Although about 2 million Jewish people emigrated out of THE PALE, mostly to the United States, the population remained at over
5 million people until World War II. This was because of a high birth rate among the orthodox people.Many people fled from THE PALE to the interior of Russia during World War I (l914-l918) to escape from the invading German armies. These people mainly went to remote sections of Siberia.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, THE PALE was officially abolished. A large portion of THE PALE became part of Poland.
Between 1917-1918 , some of the worst pogroms took place, and over 30,000 Jews were killed.
The Jewish people still living in the areas which were part of THE PALE were targets of the Nazis during World War II. This era is known as THE HOLOCAUST. Most of these people were either
killed, or displaced from these areas of Eastern Europe. Jewish cultural life which had developed over many centuries was virtually wiped out.
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