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The Florida Holocaust Museum: History, Heritage and Hope Permanent Exhibition

The Diaspora

The Jewish Diaspora (dispersal) dates back to the destruction of the Holy Temple and the subsequent spread of Jewish exiles throughout the Roman Empire. By the 3rd century CE, Jews were settled from India and Persia to Spain, France, and Italy. Jews had become prominent in Europe after the 10th century, with the establishment of kehilot (community councils), synagogues, yeshivot (schools), and hevrots (Jewish societies).

The Jews of Spain were highly regarded in the fields of literature and philosophy. It was here that Maimonides produced his works on Jewish law. In Poland and Lithuania, Jews found peace through separation, so much so that by the end of the 17th century more than half of the world's Jewish population lived there.

Beginning with the French Revolution, Jews looked more upon themselves as members of their host nations, and began to adopt the culture and traditions of modern society. It is said that their watchwords became "adaptation and compromise" as they were thrust into the mainstream. After so many years of being hidden from society, Jews now held positions in law, medicine, journalism, and commerce. Their impact on modern culture is undeniable, and is worldwide.

Sam Gross recalls Jewish religious and cultural life in his community of Palanok, Czechoslovakia prior to World War II:

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6. Jewish Population in Europe, 1933 Jews have lived in Europe for more than two thousand years. The American Jewish Yearbook placed the total Jewish population of Europe at about 9.5 million in 1933. This number represented more than 60 percent of the world's Jewish population, which was estimated at 15.3 million. Most European Jews resided in eastern Europe, with about 5 1/2 million Jews living in Poland and the Soviet Union. Before the Nazi takeover of power in 1933, Europe had a dynamic and highly developed Jewish culture. In little more than a decade, most of Europe would be conquered, occupied, or annexed by Nazi Germany and most European Jews--two out of every three--would be dead. - Holocaust Encyclopedia, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

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Child of the Diaspora