Migration from the East

As outlined above, the Schwartzmans were early though representative members of a major migration wave from Eastern Europe in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The high birth rate, contributing to an increase in the impoverishment of the landless population, was a push factor all over Eastern and Northern Europe, and the population growth among the Eastern European Jews has been estimated to be among the largest in Europe (Lederhendler 2014).

In folklore, shtetls are often depicted as static and conservative, as if nothing had changed since medieval times. In reality, Jewish life in nineteenth-century Eastern Europe was in upheaval. As the concepts of the Enlightenment and nationalist ideas permeated Europe, the autonomous structure of the ‘Jewish nation’ was challenged, and shtetl life began to dissolve (Eliach 1998; Wasserstein 2012). Since medieval times, Jewish communities from Hamburg to Odessa were dominated by local rabbis and the elders of the congregations. These communities had been semi-autonomous in many matters, including matters not directly connected to religion. However, the secular character of the Enlightenment eventually influenced the Jewish communities, and the traditional authority of the rabbis and the elders was questioned by the authorities of Imperial Russia and Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as from within. Increasingly, religion and tradition lost their strong grip on the Jewish population. While some chose complete assimilation, many more went into politics. Some developed a new kind of secular nationalism and became Zionists, seeing a Jewish future in Erez Israel (Berkowitz 1993). Many turned to communism and socialism with Yiddish cultural aspirations (Eliach 1998).

While the Jews of Central and Western Europe were gradually emancipated, Imperial Russia aimed to modernise society by controlling its populations in various ways. Many underprivileged subjects within the Russian Empire encountered legal restrictions, but the Jewish populations were undoubtedly the most afflicted (Lohr 2012, 46; Slezkine 2004, 115; Nathans 2002, 23–24). Jews could not move freely within Russian-controlled areas; they were only permitted to live in restricted regions in the Pale of Settlement (Klier 2010). In addition, Jews were severely restricted in their choice of occupation. Mostly work consisted of providing surrounding villages with commercial services and trading at the local market place in the shtetls—selling produce from local farmers and import goods from the nearby city (Sorkin 1997, 35). Furthermore, threats of pogroms and long military conscriptions were important reasons for migration. Anti-Jewish measures increased dramatically after the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881, resulting in persecutions, further impoverishment, and a substantial increase in emigration.

In addition, there were regional circumstances and events that spurred departures. As for Nayshtot, its proximity to the German border was an important reason for making a living by long-distance trading in grain and flax. Some of the shtetl’s inhabitants were farmers, but many—like Markus Schwartzman’s father—owned shops. The contact with the world outside the shtetl may have been responsible for the urge to migrate. Furthermore, it may have been the case that the Schwartzmans had taken part in or were the victims of the unsuccessful January Uprising in 1863 and had to flee.

A great fire destroyed most of the houses in the shtetl in 1865. Since the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, Jews had lost their position in the grain trade (Slezkine 2004, 115–116).

In addition, there were occasionally deadly epidemics, such as the cholera outbreak of 1871. Lastly, the importance of Nayshtot as a hub of trade and transportation declined significantly in the late 1860s following the construction of the new railway between St Petersburg and Berlin. In sum, the rapid developments that shaped the means of making a livelihood in shtetls like Nayshtot also meant that there was a demand for the skills and trades of its inhabitants elsewhere, and regional occurrences spurred emigration.

We do not know exactly why Markus Schwartzman left Nayshtot for Sweden. However, his choices clearly illustrate how Jewish migration was a chain migration. Jews came from certain areas of the Russian Empire—Suwałki in the case of the Schwartzmans—and one family emigrating led to others doing the same. Information spread by letters or word of mouth; when Jews settled in any of the Nordic cities, many already knew the other Jews living there.

Table 6.1 The first generation of Schwartzmans of Nayshtot migrating to Sweden in 1864–1865

Source: Koritzinsky 1946, 57–69.

While most of Markus Schwartzman’s generation remained in Nayshtot, the next generation emigrated, as illustrated in Table 6.1. His nephews, Israel and Abraham Schwartzman, followed in 1865, at the age of twenty-one and twelve respectively.

The settlement pattern of the Schwartzmans indicates that Sweden was the centre for Eastern European Jews in the Nordic countries, especially in the first decades. For example, many of the first group of Eastern European Jewish settlers in Norway had previously lived in Sweden. Hence, there was also migration westward within the Nordic countries. Nonetheless, not all migrants to Sweden came directly from the Pale of Settlement. Some were born and grew up in Finland. For instance, Jenny (born in Malmo in 1884), Abraham Schwartzman’s daughter, married David Lexenberg in 1903. Lexenberg was born and raised in Helsinki (“Lexenberg,” Meliza’s Genealogy).