a more favourable attitude to the Jewish religion. Trust in Jews was based on political premises. Religion remained outside the area of government concern. The Jewish religion was not a politically important force and did not become a screen for covert political activity, as did the Catholic religion. The Jewish masses also showed no particular interest in maintaining religious institutions, so religious awareness declined, especially among the young genera-tion. Schoolchildren were raised without religion. In the early days the schools even conducted a very naïve and often laughable anti-religious propaganda campaign. That was later discontinued. Jewish religious life was tolerated. There were functioning synagogues, prayer and study houses, kloyzn,157 and prayer quora, but interest in them was waning. The Days of Awe158 were notcelebrated as they once had been. Here and there, one could come across small groups who observed the old religious practices.
[14(27)] The lifestyle of the Jewish population changed radically. The merchant class, landlords, factory owners, and artisans disappeared. They had to adapt to new conditions, which was very difficult for them. As a result,there were a great many malcontents. Merchants did not easily let themselves be drawn into the new production system. When they had the oppor-tunity to wait out, they did so. They sold their merchandise or even valuablehousehold items and lived on the proceeds. The same was done, by the way,by their non-Jewish counterparts who did not let themselves be drawn intothe new economic system. Polish officials and even workers who, on politicalgrounds, did not want to cooperate with the Soviets, likewise lived from the sale of their household possessions.
However, the Jewish worker found himself in exactly the opposite position. He could feel the distinct improvement in his situation in comparison to the period before the war. Fear of unemployment and persecution had disappeared. He felt free and saw a bright future ahead. He expressed this in his contentment and his drive to settle down and to buy household goods. When the former bourgeois sold his household possessions, the worker bought them. [14a] Deportation and the separation of family members had a negative impact, particularly separation resulting from the fact that part of the family
