Jews were arguably the most discriminated against ethnic
group in the entire Russian Empire. After the partitions of Poland, the newly
Russian Jews were forced to live in the Pale of Settlement beginning in 1791,
under Catherine the Great. This almost 500,000 square mile stretch of land
bordered the Kingdom of Prussia and Austria-Hungary.
Besides being forced to
live in this area, Russian Jews were also subject to abuse by military units.
During the Great War (World War One), many Jewish villages were ransacked and thousands
of Jewish men, women, and children were murdered. Anti-Semitism was a norm during
this time so the officer corps of the Russian army did nothing to stop these
actions and were often extremely anti-Sematic themselves.
Additionally, Jews
were all but completely barred from joining the military. Some officers refused
to allow potential Jewish soldiers into their ranks, while others were more
lenient and willing to create special Jewish divisions. About a half million
Jews were able to serve in the Great War. Clearly, Jews in Imperial Russia
faced an extreme amount of discrimination and persecution.
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