Demographers in the service of the nation: Liebmann Hersch, Jacob Lestschinsky, and the early study of Jewish migration

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Abstract

The historiography of Jewish migration began while the mass emigration from eastern Europe was still in progress. The emigration of hundreds of thousands of Jews left a deep impression on Jewish intellectuals and students, who sought to come up with a satisfactory explanation. The present paper has two aims: The first is to trace the beginning of historiography on Jewish migration, with special emphasis on two demographers - Liebman Hersch and Jacob Lestchinsky - and the way each of them tried to understand the phenomenon. The second aim is to understand the relationship between the rise of Jewish nationalism at the turn of the century and scholarly research at the time. How were the political activities and worldviews of Hersch and Lestschinsky manifested in their research into Jewish migration, and how did each of them attempt - through his research-to solve the problems of the Jewish people in his time?

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)265-282
Number of pages18
JournalJewish History
Volume20
Issue number3-4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2006

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgment This study was supported by the Israel Science Foundation. I would like to thank Prof. Sergio DellaPergola for his useful comments and to Leo Greenbaum who help me to find Liebmann Hersch_s papers in YIVO archive.

Keywords

  • Jewish demography
  • Migration
  • Palestine

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • History

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