Postcard of a Jewish soldier in the Russian army sent to his sisters from a German detention camp during World War I
Hammerstein, Germany, 1914-1918
Original at the Suzi Tourgeman collection, Jerusalem
Must Know
In 1914 the Russian Empire was the largest in the world with around 5.97 million soldiers. Most of the population were Slavic people and among them around 6 million Jews.
An estimated 400,000 Jews served in the Russian Empire during World War I. Yet many also fled the Empire between 1880 and 1920 due to harsh anti-Semitic pogroms and riots during the Tsarist period of the Russian Empire. Many Jews were murdered during these progroms, the most notable occurred in Kiev, Warsaw and Odessa – having caused a mass Jewish emigration away from Russia to the United Kingdom and United States. The anti-Semitic pogroms in Russia were also a big influence and the origin of the imminent Bolshevik movements that began in 1903.
More Info
The anti-Jewish pogroms are believed to have been a reaction to the assassination of Tsar Alexander II (the Emperor of Russian from 1855 up to his death), Jews being blamed and targeted. It is believed that the Russian press amplified the role of Jews and what was named ‘foreign influence or religion’ in the event – encouraging that the assassination was a Jewish act. Rumours of Jewish spies and thieves were also circulating, further amplifying anti-Semitism. Additionally, the Tsarist period of the Russian Empire was characterised by anti-Jewish Tsars who themselves blamed and punished Jews. Self-organised Jewish defence forces and organisations that emerged in reaction to growing anti-Semitism can be said to mark the beginning of early Zionism for Russian Jews.
The Russian Empire consisted of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and Finland. The Russian Empire’s involvement in World War I was an informal understanding with the Third French Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain (and Ireland), forming a triple entente. If attacked, these nations would band together. On the other side, a treaty between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire took place. The Russian army fought mainly on the Eastern front against Austro-Hungarian and German troops during the beginning fo World War I.
