The Czar's Machinery of Oppression

The legal and bureaucratic order that confined, taxed, conscripted, and expelled the Jews of the Pale.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Pale Encloses Polotzk

The Pale Encloses Polotzk The Fence Around the Town Mary learned that Polotzk, Vitebsk, Vilna, and other towns were grouped as the Pale of Settlement. The Czar commanded Jews to stay inside. The Invisible Wall The knowledge trickled down day by day. By the time she understood she was a prisoner, the shackles felt familiar. The First Law of Life To be born a Jew was to be born under a legal curse. The world was divided into Jews and Gentiles.

The Flag Levy and Police Extortion

The Flag Levy and Police Extortion The Compulsory Flag A notice ordered flags on every house for the Czar's birthday. Poor people pawned samovars to buy cloth. The Old Woman's Pillow A policeman took the last pillow from a miserable hut and sold it to hoist a flag. The Czar always got his dues. The Price of Peace Jews paid to keep on good terms with the police. Peace cost so much a year in Polotzk.

Conscription and Self-Maiming

Conscription and Self-Maiming The Unholy Service A Jewish soldier had to eat trefah, work on Sabbath, and live like a Gentile. The fear of an unholy life outweighed even brutality. The Secret Operations Men injured their eyes, ears, and limbs to escape the draft. Some were made incurably blind or lame. The Bribes and the Hiding Rich fathers bribed conscription officers; boys hid under assumed names. Mary's cousin was drafted despite every sacrifice.

The Jewish School Quota

The Jewish School Quota The Ten Percent Door The high school admitted Jewish children by quota, and special examinations were rigged against them. A Jewish child had to answer harder questions. The Turned-Down Noses Even the brightest Jewish candidates were rejected if the officers disliked the turn of their noses. No appeal was possible. The Closed Door The university quota of three Jews to a hundred Gentiles made higher education almost impossible. The Czar did not want Jews in the schools.

The Expulsion from Moscow

The Expulsion from Moscow The Latest Disaster The government expelled Jews from Moscow and the surrounding district at cruelly short notice. Hundreds of fugitives flooded the open district. Ring Beyond Ring Every new arrival increased competition and distress. The disaster spread like rings in a river. The Cry for a Promised Land Passover was celebrated in tears. Many ended the service with "Next year in America" instead of "Next year in Jerusalem."

the first lesson of Mary's childhood

Czar's birthday celebrations in Polotzk

the military draft seasons in Polotzk

Mary's school-age years in Russia

shortly before Passover, just before Pinchus's emigration