In comparison, the Jews in western Europe --
Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and
Belgium – were a much smaller proportion of the
whole population and tended to adopt the culture of
their non-Jewish neighbours. They dressed and
talked like them, and traditional religious practices
and Yiddish culture played a less important part in
their lives. In general, they tended to have had more
formal education than eastern European Jews and
to live in towns or cities.
Across eastern and western Europe, Jews could be
found in all walks of life, in both rural and urban
communities. Some families were wealthy; many
more were poor. Many children finished their
education early to work in a craft or trade; some
looked forward to continuing their learning at
university.
During this time, Jewish culture thrived. There were
some Jews who excelled in the secular worlds of
literature, theatre, music, and art. Also some culture
that was specifically Jewish developed during these
years in the very same arts, mainly in Eastern
Europe.
In eastern Europe, many of the Jews lived in small
towns or villages called shtetls. Eastern European
Jews tended to live a separate life as a minority within
the culture of the rest of the population.
They spoke Yiddish, a Germanic language written in
the Hebrew alphabet that also includes elements of
Slavic and other languages.. They read Yiddish books
and attended Yiddish theatre and films. Although many
younger Jews in larger towns were beginning to adopt
modern ways and dress, older people often dressed
traditionally, the men wearing hats, and the women
modestly covering their hair with scarves.
When the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Jews were living in almost every country of Europe.
A total of about nine million Jews lived in the twenty-one countries that would be occupied by Germany
during World War II.
