Why have so many Eastern European Jews chosen to emigrate?

Answer 1

There are a number of reasons for the Jewish departure from Eastern Europe from the mid-1700s up to the mid-1900s.

1) Border Changes: There were numerous wars in Eastern Europe which lead to some countries (like Poland) expanding to huge sizes before being completely removed from the map. This nearly constant map-rewriting made many Jews flee the oncoming battles and resettle elsewhere.

2) Religious Intolerance: Eastern Europe had a mix of Catholics (who were dominant in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary), Orthodox (who were dominant in Russia, Serbia, and Greece), and Jews (who settled throughout). Religious tensions were common and religious adherence was enforced brutally, especially in Yugoslav States and the Austrian Empire in general. Jews were targeted especially because they were believed by both the Orthodox and the Catholics to be heretics and unable to properly integrate.

3) Ottoman Invasion: When the Ottomans came and conquered the entirety of southeast Europe, many Europeans fled the Ottoman occupation because of fear as to how they would live under the Turks. (Admittedly it turned out that Turkish Occupation was better for the Jews than what they had before, but the fear of what it could be was the dominant factor in their decisions.) Many Jews, like their Christian neighbors, fled north to escape the Ottomans.

4) Economic Pressures: Eastern European land was difficult for many to farm. It did not provide a warm climate or adequate resources to really build the massive farming successes found in Western Europe (with the possible exception of the Ukraine). As a result, the famines encouraged many to seek a livelihood elsewhere.

5) Nazism: Over 5 million Jews in Eastern Europe were exterminated during the Holocaust by the Nazi Einsatzgruppen, the Final Solution, Starvation in Ghettos, and other atrocities perpetrated during the Holocaust. (Note: Around 1 million Jews killed came from other regions, which is the difference between this number and the traditional 6 million.) These individuals were incapable of freely departing and were slaughtered.

Answer 2

Imagine an ethno-religious group (the Jews) that have been subject to repeated expulsions, pogroms, massacres, blood-libels, and ubiquitous distrust and discrimination. Now, picture the feelings among this people, when they hear that a country has been established (America), in which freedom of religion, and the cessation of discrimination, is built into this country's laws.

Answer 3

They were persecuted and wanted better lives.

Answer 4

Most emigrated because of persecution in Eastern Europe.