The granting of civil liberties posed a previously unknown question to the new generation of Jews: what was it that made them Jewish? Previously everything was clear, isolation and persecution clearly defined the boundaries of the Jewish existence. Now the anti-Jewish laws have been repealed and the role of religion has receded into the background in the modern world.
The Jews in Těšín often subscribed to the German-speaking culture that gave them equality and education. Some considered themselves Czechs, in the interwar period Czechoslovaks, others Poles, still others Silesians. Zionists came to see their Jewishness as a sign of a separate Jewish nation that, like the Czech or Polish nations, deserved its own nation-state. The most pious Orthodox Jews ignored secular politics as a necessary evil and followed only divine law.
A photograph from the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire shows the family of Walter Ziffer, a native of Těšín.
Take a look at the photo. Who do you think is Jewish in this picture?
Answer in the rectangle below this text.