''The Jewish Steppe'' is a 2001
documentary
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
about a group of
Russian Jews
The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...
who, suffering as a result of
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...
and fearful of
pogroms
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century attacks on Jews i ...
, left their homeland to farm the
Crimean Peninsula
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...
. Established in the 1920s, their
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
agrarian
commune was destroyed.
Summary
"Why should the Jewish people go to
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
where the land is less productive and requires big investments?" a Jewish newspaper asked at the time of the settlement, "Who go so far if the fertile Crimean land is beckoning to the Jewish people?"
At the turn of the twentieth century,
antisemitism
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
was common in Russia. Legislation was passed that limited Jews to working only in retail and handicrafts. When these laws were lifted, around the time the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
, pogroms broke out. Approximately 30,000 Jews left for the Crimean Peninsula. Rare pictures and film footage from the
Russian State Film and Photo Archive are narrated in ''The Jewish Steppe'' to explain how they lived there.
One newspaper wrote that everyone on the steppe was competing with each other to work harder. When, in 1931, famine occurred in Russia, the Jewish settlements continued to have an abundant harvest that helped feed the rest of the nation during its grain shortage.
Two years after it was settled, the area was recognized as the Soviet Union's first Jewish district. They went on to establish schools and two colleges.
"As a result of healthy life and labor," a local farmer commented in a newspaper, "peace of mind is replacing the nervousness typical for Jewish people. Movements have become measured, and faces have become calm." He went on to say that these changes were particularly noticeable in the younger generation.
Under
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, the commune was destroyed, leaving only archival footage and documents.
See also
*
History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union
The history of the Jews in Russia and territorial evolution of Russia, areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire a ...
*
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
*
Crimean Peninsula
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...
Other documentaries about Jews of the Diaspora:
*''
Jews of Iran
Iranian Jews, (; ) also Persian Jews ( ) or Parsim, constitute one of the oldest communities of the Jewish diaspora. Dating back to the biblical era, they originate from the Jews who relocated to Iran (historically known as Persia) during th ...
''
*''Trip to Jewish Cuba''
*''
Queen of the Mountain''
*''
Next Year in Argentina
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...
''
*''
Luboml''
*''
In Search of Happiness
IN, In or in may refer to:
Dans
* India (country code IN)
* Indiana, United States (postal code IN)
* Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN)
* In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast
Businesses and organizations
* Independen ...
''
*''
Balancing Acts
''Balancing Acts'' is a 2005 documentary film by Donna Schatz that chronicles the lives of Chinese acrobat Man-Fong Tong and his wife Magda Schweitzer, a Jewish acrobat from Budapest, Hungary. The two met in Europe on the eve of World War II. Th ...
''
*''
Baba Luba''
*''
My Yiddish Momme McCoy''
*''
A Home on the Range''
*''
From Swastika to Jim Crow''
*''
Song of a Jewish Cowboy
A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usually ...
''
References
*
External links
''Study of Jewish Agricultural Colonies in the Ukraine''by Chaim Freedman, 2002. Introduction to the Study of the Agricultural Colonies at KehilaLinks.JewishGen.org. General presentation of the phenomenon and related documents, but no mention of the 2001 documentary film. Re-accessed 2021-11-15.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jewish Steppe
Documentary films about the Soviet Union in the Stalin era
History of Crimea
Documentary films about Jews and Judaism
Documentary films about refugees
Russian short documentary films
2001 films
2001 short documentary films
2000s English-language films
English-language short documentary films
Jewish Russian and Soviet history