The Dark Side of Gefilte Fish

This talk will focus on the variety of Jewish organizations in Lodz in the second half of the 19th century point, a period when the Jewish population grew from a few thousand to one hundred thousand people. Looking at a range of religious, communal, philanthropic and commercial endeavours, it argues that Łódź was an arena of a burgeoning Jewish social life which functioned with only modest control from the Russian administration or the Jewish community leadership, both being unable to impose their authority. The point of departure of this short excursion to the emerging metropolis of Lodz will be an examination of the Old Market, where a group of Jewish traders established a fish racket enforcing inflated prices and subjecting their fellow fishmongers to threats and harassment. It will further look at the emergence of uncontrolled heders (primary schools), of communal structures in the northern neighborhood of Bałuty, of Jewish places of worship ahead of holidays, as well as philanthropic institutions.