Questions:
1.How and why did the Jewish population increase so rapidly in the 19th century
In 1800 the Jewish population was 2.7 million and in 1910 the population exploded to 12 million. In the Russian Empire, half of the population were Jews. Jews seem to live longer than non Jews with a low infant mortality rate. Adults also had a low dead rate because of the lack of alcohol. Medical options and cleanliness where also available to Jews.
2.Why did Jews move to cities and which cities became large Jewish centers?
Mertropolitanization was starting to ramp up in the end of the 19th century. Jews moved into cities and out of rural areas for better job opportunities. They also moved for better educational reasons. Cities like Bialystok, Berdichev, Grodno, Pinsk, Lvov, Lodz, Lublin, Cracow, and Vilna saw a large increase of Jew. London swelled from 40,000 to 200,000 from 1880 to 1914! There was also a large increase in New York City where 1,503,000 Jews lived. Salonika became one of Europe’s largest Jewish cities.
Grade: B+.
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