Jewish Artisans

Summary

WHEN considering the situation of artisans in interwar Poland, one must bear in mind several methodological problems which make precise study very difficult. The difficulties are of various types but together they make any quantitative approach a very hard task. Above all, the term ‘artisan’ is quite vague. Of course we can attempt a theoretical definition, but in practice any definition is subject to serious flaws. There is no precise way to distinguish between handicraft work, small-scale industry, and cottage work. The manufacturing techniques and organization were similar in all; the only point of contrast lay in the economic basis of each sector, but even here differences were not great. Theoretically, it could be argued that artisans produced in response to a concrete order, while small capitalist entrepreneurs produced for an anonymous market, but while these differences had been clear in the more distant past, the distinction became blurred during the Second Polish Republic. The difference between an artisan and a cottage worker lay in the fact that while the former worked on his own account, the latter was required by others to process the materials entrusted to him. Frequently, however, artisans combined both functions, working sometimes on their own account and sometimes as cottage workers. This is not surprising since the manufacturing techniques were identical in either case.

Under these circumstances, to state who was and who was not an artisan is a matter of arbitrary decision. It was generally laid down by legislation which crafts were performed by artisans, while the Treasury imposed separate taxes on handicraft works. Yet during the period between 1919 and 1939 there was considerable fluctuation in the list of crafts designated for tax purposes as the work of artisans, and in the imposition of tax on workshops.

It is not only the theoretical definition of handicraft work that creates difficulties, but also the practical application of such a definition. Even if we adhere to the categories laid down by legislation or the Treasury, we remain hampered by the shortage of statistical evidence, which makes it impossible to estimate the number of handicraft works. Statistical data supplied by the Organization of Handicraft Workers include only information on the number of licences granting the right to engage in a craft. In order to obtain a licence, a craftsman had to complete his apprenticeship or graduate from a technical college.