A Brief History of Galicia.

Coat of Arms of Galicia under the Austrian Empire

Early History of the Region of Galicia and the Influence of the Kievan Rus

5th-10th centuries	White Croats inhabit upper Dniester and Bug regions.
Early 10th century	White Croats become allies of the Kievan Rus.
10th century	Influence of Moravians in Galicia. A hybrid form of Latin and Byzantine Christianity is introduced. Jews who lived in this area at this time were probably Khazars or emigrants from the Byzantine Empire.
970's	Przemyśl is founded in this period of Moravian influence.
981	According to the Rus Primary Chronicle, Volodymyr, Grand Prince of Kiev (reigned 980-1015) captured Przemyśl, Cherven, and other cities.
993	Rus attack White Croats in Galicia.
Late 10th century	Under the influence of Kiev, Galicians adopt the eastern Orthodox form of Christianity. Jews emigrate from Bohemia to Galicia.
Second half of the 11th century	A branch of Kievan Rurykovich dynasty, the Rostyslav dynasty, rules in Galicia under Prince Rostyslav (died 1065), grandson of Jaroslav the Wise of Kiev (reigned 1019-1054). Rostyslav's three sons solidify the Galician dynasty. Jews entering Galician territories are probably traders, including slave traders. Many came from Silesia. Many were engaged in the minting of money.
1141	Volodymyrko (reigned 1124-1153) and Jaroslav Osmomysl (reigned 1153-1187) establish Halych as the capital of Galicia.
1153-1187	Jaroslav Osmomysyl, extends the territory as far south as the Black Sea. Trade, especially in salt that was mined in Halych, enriches the region
1199-1205	Besieged by unrest among the boyars (wealthy landowners) and subject to armed incursions by Kiev, Volhynia, Hungary and Poland, the Rostyslav dynasty, dies out. Prince Roman of Volhynia begins the new Romanovych dynasty. Galicia and Volhynia are united.

The ancient coat of arms of Halych

The Kingdom of Galicia and the Romanovych Dynasty

1238-1262	Reign of Danylo, the high point of medieval Galicia.
1241- 1288	Galicia is devastated in the first of three Mongolian invasions by the armies of the Ghengis Khan and his successors. After the Tartar invasions, large numbers of Jews emigrate (along with Germans) to the Polish Kingdom where they are welcomed by the king to rebuild the urban centers which had been devastated by the Mongols. The Jews name for Galicia is Reisin.
1253	Danylo is crowned by the Pope as King of the Rus and reigns over the Kingdom of Galicia and Volhynia (regnum Galicia et Lodomeria).
1264	In Greater Poland, King Bolesław V, grants rights to the Jews according to the Statute of Kalisch, allowing them to control their own fiscal, legal and political organizations. In this statute the main business of Jews is described as money lending.
1264-1301	Lev, son of Danylo reigns. With the decline of Kiev's influence, Galicia is the dominant force in the Southern Rus region.
1260's	Lwów becomes the capital of Galicia.
1323	The last male of the Romanowych line dies. Galicia is torn apart by intrigues among the boyars, new wars with the Mongols and invasions of foreign powers, the Poles, the Hungarians and the Lithuanians.
1327	A great number of Jews participate in the fair at Novy Sącz.
1335	Casimir the Great found the city of Kazimierz close to the town of Kraków but separated from it by branches of the Vistula River. Jews settle in both towns.

The Coat of Arms of the Piast Dynasty

The Polish Commonwealth 1340-1772

1340	Galicia is conquered by King Casimir the Great of Poland (reigned 1330- 1370).
	Some cities in Poland, Lwów among them, receive the privilege of self-rule according to the Magdeburg laws. These laws grant privileges only to Roman Catholic (and Polonized German) citizens. Orthodox Ukrainians and Jews are restricted in their right of residence. Jews are confined to ghettos and also limited to certain activities such as money lending. These laws appy only to those few cities that adopted the Magdeburg Law.
1349	Chroniclers relate that in reaction to the Black Death, all Jews in Poland were massacred.
1356	First written reference to the Jewish Community in Lwów . 1367 King Casimir extends the Statute of Kalisch to Jews throughout Poland. The Statute defined the rights of Jews to work in specific professions and trades, defined legal relations between Christians and Jews and even protected Jewish children from forced baptism.
1369	The city council of Kraków complains to Kazimierz that high interest rates charged by Jews is impoverishing their citizens.

The coat of arms of the combined Kingdom of Poland and the Duchy of Lithuania.

1386	With the marriage of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław II Jagiełło to Queen Jadwiga of Poland, the Jagiellonian dynasty begins.
1425	Having given the Jew, Wolchko, the customs lease for the City of Lwów, King Władisław Jagiełło gives him a large tract of land to colonize.
1452	King Casimir IV Jagiełło gives the salt mines of Drohobycz to the Jew, Natko.
1453	King Casimir IV Jagiełło codifies and ratifies the Statute of Kalisch. Based on the terms of the statutes of Bolesław and Casimir, Jews are treated as servants to the royal court who are mainly in the business of money lending. The laws are attacked throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. Some towns insist on Jews' wearing distinctive badges.
1485	The growing power of Jews in trade and crafts incites accusations of unfair competition and in Kraków, the Jewish community is forced to renounce its rights to trades and crafts.
1490-1492	Peasant uprising in Galicia.
1495	The Jews of Kraków are forced out of the town and moved to Kazimierz.
	Another peasant uprising in Galicia.
End of 14th century	Approximately 20,000 to 30,000 Jews live in Poland.
Late 15 and early 16th century	The Jews of Lwów are active in the large scale land trade between the Ottoman Empire and Europe.
1500-1700	Serfdom is prevalent throughout Galicia.
1502-1510	Invasion by the Turks from the East.
1506-1548	Under the reign of Sigismund I, a liberal monarch, Jews hold high positions at court. This administration attempts to bring greater autonomy to Polish Jews by appointing a Chief Rabbi and chief tax collector but this is resisted by the local Jewish communities (kehillot).
1534	3,500 Jews live in Rus Czerwona, mainly in the cities.
1551	Under King Sigismund August (1548-1632), the general privileges of the Jews are renewed and a system of autonomous government created, in effect, a Jewish state within a state under the auspices of the crown, not the Polish parliament (Seym). Each independent Jewish Kahal sends a deputy to a national assembly, or Council of Lands which meet twice a year during the fairs in Lublin and Jarosław. Hebrew is one of the six languages recognized for legal purposes. Rus Czerwona is one of the four lands of the Council. This period is one of economic advancement for the Jews especially in large towns like Lwów.
1568	With the commencement of the reign of the Vasa Kings of Poland who are strongly influenced by the clergy, anti-Semitism increases, particularly in relation to the role the Jews play as leaseholders for the Polish nobility.
1570	The Jews of Kraków number 2,000, making it the largest Jewish community in Poland.
1578	There are approximately 100,000 Jews in Poland.
1648	Bohdan Chmielnitsky (ca 1595-1659) leads the Cossack revolt. With his Tatar allies, Chmielnitsky ravages Ukraine, massacring thousands. Jews are particular targets. His army besieges Lwów and destroys its suburbs.
1655	Chmielnitsky again lays siege to Lwów. Further east in Ukraine, only 10% of Jews survive his savage pogroms
1656	Lwów is attacked by the Hungarians
1659	The Union of Lublin unites Poland and Lithuania. Their combined might impels the expansion of territory to the east and the colonization of the Ukraine by the Polish nobility, in which enterprise they employ the Jews as partners. Despite the Chmielnitsky massacres, Jews begin to move into the villages of Ukraine and become involved in the arenda system, by which they manage much of the agricultural economy. The economic and personal lives of Jews improve considerably during this period and the population east of Lwów expands.
1664	Several hundred Jews are murdered in pogroms in Lwów.
1665	Chmielnitsky lays siege to Lwów
1648-1696	The courts of Jan II Casimir and Jan III Sobieski attempt to strengthen Jewish autonomy but make little progress. Anti-Semitic laws and acts increase. Approximately 300,000 Jews live in Poland.
1695	Tartars invade Lwów.
1704	The Swedes capture Lwów.
1696-1733	The reign of Augustus II of Poland begins the period of decline of the Polish Commonwealth. Political deadlock and costly wars have caused stagnation in the economy and the government. The lot of the peasants has become much more miserable and Jewish merchants also suffer as commerce declines. Many kehillot go bankrupt.
mid 18th century	The ravages of the thirty years of war, the stagnation of the economy, and decline of the Polish Commonwealth’s relative tolerance toward the Jewish minority result in a period of religious disruption and change. Under the influence of Israel ben Eliezer (1700-1760) Hassidism is born in opposition to orthodoxy. The heresy of Jacob Frank and his followers also makes a deep impression on the population and the first influence of Haskalah is apparent at this time.
1764	The Council of Lands is abolished.

Coat of Arms of Austria Hungary

Galicia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1772-1918

1772	Austria under Empress Maria Theresa (reigned 1740-1780) claims Galicia and Volhynia in the first partition of Poland. They become crown lands of the empire. A new code of regulations is established under which the Jews of Galicia are to be governed and a system of congregational districts is established under a general administration (Generaldirektion) headed by the Chief Rabbi of the entire community.
1772-1848	Jews are subjected to special taxes by Vienna and restrictions are placed on occupations connected to trade. Jewish marriages are now supervised by the state.
1774	Bukovina with 75,000 inhabitants becomes a crown land of Austria.
1776	There are 144,200 Jews in Galicia. Three quarters of them live in the eastern part, mainly in cities and towns. A significant part of the population of Drohobycz is Jewish. The Austrian government reorganizes the internal governance of the Jewish community.
1780-1790	Reign of Joseph II.
1781	Serfdom is abolished. Land continues to be held by the Polish ruling class. The Austrian government also decides that Galicia should remain an agricultural region to supply food to the empire and exist as a market for the products made in the western, industrialized parts of the empire.
1783	Galicia is divided into circles (Kreise) for government administration
1784-1785	Joseph II attempts to drive the Jews out their traditional occupations of trade and crafts by encouraging their settlement on farms. The measure does not succeed. However, laws passed at the same time to restrict Jewish involvement in trades damages the position of Jews in the rural economy. The Emperor also establishes German schools in every community and encourages Jewish attendance.
1785	Joseph II further reorganizes Jewish governance making it more subservient to the state.
1787	The Austrian government decrees that all Jewish families adopt hereditary surnames. Jewish governance is also further modified. Jews are now allowed the privileges of settling anywhere and are free to practice their religion. The limitations on marriage imposed in 1772 are lifted. However, autonomy in governance is restricted making Jewish citizens subject to the state in administrative and judicial matters.
1788	All Jews are now subject to military conscription
1789	With the Toleranzpatent, laws that differentiated Jews from Christians are set aside with the exception of taxation. Jews are now able to pursue higher education and practice medicine and law
1790	Joseph II dies. His successors do not continue his reform. Economically Galicia begins to lag behind other arts of the Austrian Empire.
End of 18th century	About 500,000 Jews live in Galicia.
1846	The Ukrainian peasants of Galicia revolt.
1847	The city-state of Kraków that had been administered directly by Vienna is made part of Galicia.
1848	The revolution of 1848 begins in March and spreads quickly to eastern Galicia. Serfdom is again repealed. Peasants and minorities begin to establish their own schools, newspapers and political organizations.
1860's	The Galician school system begins to be Polonized. In this and the following decade, many Jews are influenced by the growing Polish cultural orientation.
1861	Austria establishes a new constitutional parliament.
1867	Austria takes measures to grant more autonomy to its provinces. Self-rule for Hungary is declared. Poles in Galicia are given more authority over the affairs of the province. Jews receive full political rights. Provincial administration now comes under Polish control and the system of governance is altered. The circles (Kreise) become districts.
1868	The Galician Diet eliminates all anti-Jewish restrictions in the municipal statutes.
1869	Jews make up 10.5 percent of the population in Galicia. In Eastern Galicia there are 428,000 Jews, almost three times as many as the number in Western Galicia, 147,000.
1873	Jewish political inclinations before this period have been supportive of Viennese centralization. However, the Jewish intelligentsia begins to support the Polish Club, a group of politicians who support the Polish movement for Galician autonomy.
1870's and 1880's	The Ukrainian national movement grows in Galicia.
1887	Hovevei Zion (Lovers of Zion) is founded in Lwów.
1890's	Ukrainian nationalism enters a new phase. New social democratic parties are established that are opposed to ethnic hatred and distance themselves from anti-Semitism.
1890	The Galicia Social Democratic Party is established representing the three nationalities of Galicia: Poles, Ukrainians and Jews.
1898	During the election campaign, riots, inspired by the Ukrainian Christian populists break out against the Jews. Galician Zionists establish Ahavat Zion (Love of Zion).
Beginning of the 20th century	Around this turn of the century, there is further polarization among the main three groups of Galicia. Even those with common political goals are divided by their ethnic and religious differences. The Jewish section of the Galicia Social Democratic Party, from which the Ukrainian section has already split to form its own party, also leaves and establishes its own party, the Jewish Social Democratic Party
1907	The Viennese parliament introduces universal male suffrage. This measure gives the Ukainians, who had been poorly represented in the government, more political power.
1907-1908	During the elections for the regional Diets, there is great anger about electoral manipulation. The governor of Galicia, Andrzej Potocki, is assassinated by a Ukrainian student.
1910	53% of Galician Jews are engaged in commerce, 24.6%in industry and crafts. 11.4% in the civil service, 10.7% in agriculture.
1911	The Zionist party is defeated in the Parliamentary elections. Riots break out in Drohobycz on election day and several are killed and woulnded.
1914	World War I begins. With the advance of the Russians into Galicia in the late summer, many thousands of Jews flee to Hungary, Vienna and other parts of the empire.
1915	Austrian administration returns to Galicia
1918	The collapse of the Austrian Empire.
March, 1917	The Ukrainians establish a National Council (the Rada) and proclaim the separation of the Ukraine from Russia in January, 1918. The Ukrainian nationalist movement establishes relations with the leaders of Zionism in eastern Galicia. Both groups have fought against Polish aims in the Ukraine. Jews are given representation in the Rada, a secretariat for Jewish affairs is established, and a law passed to protect national minorities, including Jews. A Jewish National Council is formed
July, 1918	Jewish autonomy is abolished, the Jewish ministry dissolved, and pogroms take place without the Ukrainian government’s taking any effective measures

Coat of Arms of of Poland 1919-27

The Polish Republic 1918-1939

November 1, 1918	With the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, an independent Western Ukrainian National Republic is proclaimed in Lwów. Almost immediately, war breaks out with the Poles. There is a major pogrom in Lwów.
1919	The Treaty of Versailles promises the Jews of the new state of Poland protection of minority rights, their own schools, respect for the Sabbath and their national traditions. These hopes are not fulfilled. Schools are not allowed to develop freely and the kehillot are tightly controlled to ensure the support of government candidates. The numerus clausus is introduced in the universities and certain courses are restricted entirely.
April, 1919	In April, the Polish army under General Haller invades Galicia. By July, the Ukrainian Galician Army has crossed over into eastern Ukraine.
Inter-war period	The Polish state’s policy is anti-Semitic; Jews cannot find employment in the civil service, in schools, on the railways, banks, or state-run monopolies. Since the state also licenses artisans and controls the banking system and foreign trade, employment for Jews in these enterprises is restricted. In this regard their lot under independent Poland is much worse than under the Austrian regime
1919	In the elections to the Sejm (Polish Parliament) for the Temporary Jewish National Council, the General Zionists receive 50% of the vote.
1920	The former Austrian province of Galicia is now divided into four provinces. The former Drohobycz Administrative District becomes part of the Province of Lwów.
1921	Jews make up 10.5% of the population of Poland (probably a low figure). In Galicia, the percentage of Jews in cities is high
1922	Jewish National representation in the Sejm reaches its peak, over 50%. Although the General Zionists with the Mizrachi dominate Polish-Jewish politics, they are divided, the more moderate Galician faction being represented by Leon Reich of Lwów. There are several other Jewish parties active in this period. Non-Zionist orthodoxy is represented by Agudat Israel. It dominates the kehillot and favors good relations with the government. There is the left-leaning Bund that supports the working class and promotes Yiddish culture. This party begins to gain strength during the thirties when it dominates many of the kehillot.
1923-24	24.4% of the student body in Polish universities is Jewish.
1931	789,886 Jews live in Galicia
1933	On the elections to the 18th Zionist Congress, the Labour Zionists rather than General Zionists dominate.
1938-1939	8.2% of the student body in Polish universities is Jewish.

This material was compiled by Valerie Schatzker