Links In A Chain, History Of Kosminski's Poland

[Semper_Eadem]

I was listening to the Rippercast on Kosminski when I remember reading in a biography on Catherine The Great of the Partition of Poland in November of 1791.

Supposedly Fredrick William, King Of Prussia and Catherine the Great Of Russia both invaded Poland and divided it up because of the strong fear of Jacobin activity in Poland, remember this is occurring during the French Revolution. Well I think the Partition of Poland was a grab and divide of Poland by Germany and Russia with the Jacobin activity as an excuse. Still Kosminski would of grown up with the results of this land grab, I just find it interesting when you think how everything is conected. I thought some you would be interested in this so I thought I would share this info with all of you.

I read of this in the bio of Catherine The Great, Portrait Of A Woman by Robert K Massie.

or you can read about it here in Wiki, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constit...of_May_3,_1791

Just can't stop thinking that if Poland hadn't been conquered, Kosminski might not of immigrated to England almost hundred years later. Life wasn't easy for jews in Partitioned Poland.

[Bridewell]

Hi Semper,

Interesting idea for a thread. You'll probably get an informed response from Paul Begg in due course. As you probably already know around 40% of the population in and around Whitechapel was Jewish at the time of the Whitechapel Murders. There were anti-semitic pogroms taking place, not only in Poland, but also in Russia and elsewhere during parts of the 18th & 19th centuries - hence the migration west, ultimately to London.

Sadly anti-Semitism wasn't confined to mainland Europe - hence the graffiti we hear so much about (from Walter Dew among others), but London was probably a better place to live than Warsaw if you were a 19th century Jew. I look forward to reading the posts of those better educated in matters historical than I am myself.

Regards, Bridewell.

[Cogidubnus]

Juwes

Hi George

This sounds like a cracking idea for a thread...anti-semitic pogroms were certainly not confined to Russia, Poland or even Eastern Europe generally.

You will have heard of the Sephardic Jews who were long settled in the East End - these were the Jews who'd been persecuted out of Spain and Portugal by the Spanish Inquisition and succeeding actions....

Even in Britain, at some stages in history, the jews had been excluded...at some stage just about everybody kicked them...

Dave

[Semper_Eadem]

Hello Cogidubnus and Bridewell,

What I found interesting was the links in the chain between Catherine The Great and a little known Ripper suspect Kosminski, Catherine's conquest of Poland having a profound effect on Kosminski.

I can not help but wonder how the Kosminski family would of gotten on if Poland had been left alone. Poland in the early 1790's was becoming very democratic due to its new Constitution of May 1791 and the Jacobin party in it's cabinet, plus it proximity to revolutionary France.

I could go on all day about this and how it might of Changed Poland but since I got my 2 cents out on this I feel that this thread discussing the treatment of the Jewish People in Europe, pacifically anything new being added on Kosminski, Cohen, Kaminski is a fine idea. I am familiar with the prejudice Jews received in Germany in WII but not in 19th Century Europe but I bet I can hazard a guess or two. Russians in the later 19th Century were for the most part treated like dirt anyways unless they were nobles so I hope I am not generalizing, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if Russian (used to be Polish) Jews were treated worse.