Zionists in Interwar Czechoslovakia: Minority Nationalism and the Politics of Belonging

494 Pages·2016·3.808 MB·English

by  Tatjana Lichtenstein

Z I O N I S T S
IN INTERWAR
C Z E C H O S L O V A K I A
The Modern Jewish Experience
Deborah Dash Moore and Marsha L. Rozenblit, editors
Paula Hyman, founding coeditor
A Helen B. Schwartz Book
Published with the support of the Helen B. Schwartz Fund for
New Scholarship in Jewish Studies of the Robert A. and
Sandra B. Borns Jewish Studies Program, Indiana University
Z I O N I S T S
IN INTERWAR
C Z E C H O S L O V A K I A
Minority Nationalism and
the Politics of Belonging
Tatjana Lichtenstein
Indiana University Press
Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Information Sciences–Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials,
Indiana University Press ANSI Z39.48–1992.
Office of Scholarly Publishing
Herman B Wells Library 350 Manufactured in the
1320 East 10th Street United States of America
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA
Library of Congress
iupress.indiana.edu Cataloging-in-Publication Data
© 2016 by Tatjana Lichtenstein Lichtenstein, Tatjana, author.
Zionists in interwar Czechoslovakia :
All rights reserved minority nationalism and the politics of
belonging / Tatjana Lichtenstein.
No part of this book may be reproduced pages cm – (The modern Jewish
or utilized in any form or by any means, experience)
electronic or mechanical, including Includes bibliographical references
photocopying and recording, or by and index.
any information storage and retrieval ISBN 978-0-253-01867-0 (cloth : alk.
system, without permission in writing paper) – ISBN 978-0-253-01872-4
from the publisher. The Association of (ebook) 1. Zionism–Czechoslovakia
American University Presses’ Resolu- –History. 2. Jews–Czechoslovakia–
tion on Permissions constitutes the History–20th century. 3. Czechoslo-
only exception to this prohibition. vakia–Ethnic relations. I. Title.
DS149.5.C94L53 2016
The paper used in this publication 320.5409569409437’09041–dc23
meets the minimum requirements of 2015033435
the American National Standard for 1 2 3 4 5 21 20 19 18 17 16
For my parents
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Contents
· Acknowledgments ix
· List of Place Names xiii
· I ntroduction: Minority Nationalism and
Zionists’ Politics of Belonging 1
1 Th e Jews of Czechoslovakia:
A Mosaic of Cultures 29
2 J ewish Power and Powerlessness: Zionists,
Czechs, and the Paris Peace Conference 53
3 M apping Jews: Social Science and the
Making of Czechoslovak Jewry 89
4 C onquering Communities: Zionists,
Cultural Renewal, and the State 140
5 A Stateless Nation’s Territory: Zionists
and the Jewish Schools 190
6 M aking New Jews: Maccabi in
Czechoslovakia 226
7 P romised Lands: Zionism and Communism
in Interwar Czechoslovakia 269
· E pilogue: “The Storm of Barbarism” 315
· Notes 333
· Bibliography 421
· Index 447
Acknowledgments
At the end of this journey, it is a pleasure to be able to
thank the many institutions and people that I am indebted to.
My research has been funded by several different organizations. At
the University of Toronto, I had the honor of receiving a Connaught
Scholarship, the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Fellowship in Jewish Stud-
ies, the Naim S. Mahlab Graduate Scholarship, the Liebe Sharon Wilen-
sky Lesk Graduate Scholarship in Jewish Studies, the Arthur Vaile Me-
morial Graduate Prize in Jewish Studies, and a grant from the Canadian
Friends of the Hebrew University. In the early stages of my research, the
Simon Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture hosted me in
Leipzig. The Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture also supported
my research. At the University of Texas at Austin, I am especially grate-
ful for the financial support of the Department of History, the Schuster-
man Center for Jewish Studies, the Center for Russian, East European,
and Eurasian Studies, the Center for European Studies, and the College
of Liberal Arts. In 2012–2013, I was fortunate to be a fellow at the Uni-
versity of Michigan’s Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. This
book is published with the generous support of a University of Texas at
Austin Subvention Grant awarded by the Office of the President.
I would also like to thank the archivists and librarians who helped
me navigate their collections. In Prague, I am grateful to Alena Jelín-
ková and Vlastimila Hamáčková of the Jewish Museum in Prague;
Vlasta Měšt’ánková, Vladimír Waage, and Jiří Křest’an of the National
Archives; Jindřiška Baušteinová of the National Library; and Vojtech
Scheinost of the Tyrš Museum for Physical Education and Sport. The
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