Żydzi w Białymstoku po II wojnie światowej jako przykład społeczności zanikającej
Jews in Bialystok after World War II as an Example of a Vanishing Community

Summary/Abstract: The article concerns the Jewish community living in Bialystok, northeastern Poland’s largest city, who, in the post-war period, lived through processes which led to its complete disappearance. As a consequence of World War II, the population of the community decreased from over 40,000 to a maximum of 1,500. The research revealed further changes, mainly caused by migratory movements and the process of acculturation. Further subjects of study were the structure of the sex and age of this population, very much altered due to the Holocaust, and the professional structure, shaped by attempts to return to pre-war occupations, but undergoing changes due to political reforms in Poland. The condition of the Białystok Jews is a clear example of the situation in which this minority found itself in post-war Poland. For this reason, this issue may be interesting not only for local and regional researchers, but also for those interested in the fate of Jews in Central and Eastern Europe, the demographic consequences of World War II as well the nationalist policy of communist governments and the effects of the forced socio-economic changes resulting from them.

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