circumstances would be opposed by a large percentage of those who before the war had been more right-wing or nationalist in their sympathies and party affiliation. Socialist opponents of Bolshevism were also totally opposed to the system. Certain manifestations of the new regime were particularly irritating to the teachers. Due to practical considerations and in fear of the consequences and contrary to their own convictions, they tried to simulate satisfaction with the change. The teachers’ personal attitude was connected with appropriately carrying out the school authorities’ orders. There were many funny situations.
Antireligious propaganda. The Bolsheviks laid great stress on anti-religious education of the young and devoted a lot of effort and time to anti-religious propaganda. They intended to break the religious principles by force, which had become deeply imprinted in the spirits of the young, [24] both Jews and Poles. It is safe to say that the religious front proved to be one of the most demanding during the political transformation. All the obstacles put in the way of observance of religious practices and all the talks given in schools for students and parents yielded no effect, particularly during the pre-holiday periods, that is before the festivals of Yom Kippur, Pesach, etc. Even though because of fear of the consequences more and more Jewish children went to school on holidays, they still fasted at school at Yom Kippur and ate matzo at school at Pesach. In turn, Polish students went to church as usual to attend the Sunday Mass. The talks were usually given by the class leader or tutor. Very often the teacher (in Jewish schools) who had taught religion and Judaic subjects for many years [25] now had to violate all the rules and truths he had preached, with the older students smiling under their breath when they heard what he said. For instance, many reacted with ironic glances and sharp remarks (particularly during the first year of the Bolsheviks’ stay, because people later grew accustomed to it) when a New Year’s Eve party was organised on 1 January in the Jewish, Zionist school, all of whose older students, except for a handful of communists, were members of various nationalist-oriented factions, and when a “Christmas tree” stood in the place where a menorah used to stand at that time because of Hanukkah.
But I need to stress here that during the first year of the Bolsheviks’ stay in Lvov the winter break was set in such a way that it included Christmas. [26] Consequently, Polish Catholic students could freely celebrate without being in conflict with the school authorities. The same thing happened at Easter. But already during the second year (the school year of 1940/1941) lessons were
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