Cantonists in Prussia

Cantonists (German: Kantonist, or a person living in a canton) were recruits in Prussia in 1733-1813, liable for draft in one of the cantons. Each canton was resposible for creating its own regiment. A canton is a territorial subdivision of a country, e. ... Recruit (from the French recrue, from the verb recroître to grow again, i. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and... Events February 12 - British colonist James Oglethorpe founds Savannah, Georgia. ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Conscription is a general term for involuntary labour demanded by some established authority, e. ... Jump to: navigation, search A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ...

Cantonists in Russia

Cantonists (Russian language: Кантонисты) were sons of Russian private soldiers who from 1805 were educated in special "canton schools" (Кантонистские школы) for future military service (the schools were called garrison schools in the 18th century); after 1827 the term was applied also to Jewish boys, who were drafted to military service at the age of twelve and placed for their military education in cantonist schools of distant provinces. Like other conscripts, they were forced to serve in the Russian army for 25 years or more, according to the law signed by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia on August 26 (September 7 new style), 1827. A disproportionate number of Jewish minors under 18 years of age, and sometimes much younger, were placed in such preparatory military training establishments. Even though boys as young as eight were frequently taken, the 25-year term officially commenced at the age of 18. Jump to: navigation, search Russian (Russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, listen [â–¶]) is the most widely spoken language of Europe and the most widespread of the Slavic languages. ... 1805 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search Garrison schools (Russian: ) in the 18th century Russia were the military schools that provided the primary education for the children of the military recruits. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... In russian, word army means armed forces in general. ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь,   listen[?]; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917 (although... Nikolai I Pavlovich (Russian: Николай I Павлович, July 6 (June 25, Old Style), 1796–March 2 (February 18, Old Style), 1855), also Nicholas, was the Emperor of Russia and king of Poland from 1825 until his death in 1855. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). ... 1827 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The vast majority of Jews entered the Russian Empire as an unwelcome side effect of the territories acquired as a result of the Partitions of Poland of the 1790s; their civil rights were severely restricted (see Pale of Settlement) and most lacked knowledge of the official Russian language. Before 1827, Jews were doubly taxed in lieu of being obligated to serve in the army, but the Cantonist law did not alleviate this burden. Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... The Partitions of Poland (Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Poland (or more correctly the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). ... Events and Trends French Revolution ( 1789 - 1799). ... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... The Pale of Settlement (Russian: Черта оседлости - cherta osedlosti) was a western border region of Imperial Russia in which permanent residence of Jews was allowed, extending from the pale or demarcation line, to near the border with eastern/central Europe. ... Jump to: navigation, search Russian (Russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, listen [â–¶]) is the most widely spoken language of Europe and the most widespread of the Slavic languages. ...

The Cantonist institutions existed before 1827 in order to prepare Christian boys whose fathers were in the army for prospective service, but the new law redesigned them to affect Jews. One of the goals behind the compulsory military service was to strip Jewish boys of their religious and national identity. An official policy was to encourage their conversion to the state religion of Orthodox Christianity and Jewish boys were frequently forcefully baptized. As kosher food was unavailable, the boys were faced with the choice of going against the halakha or starving. Since the traditional Jewish society of the time was patriarchal, removing a family backbone was designed to hit both families and communities. Jump to: navigation, search As a noun, Christian is an appellation and moniker deriving from the appellation Christ, which many people associate exclusively with Jesus of Nazareth. ... Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e. ... A state religion (also called an established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. ... Jump to: navigation, search Orthodox Christianity is a generalized reference to the Eastern traditions of Christianity, as opposed to the Western traditions which descend from the Catholic Church. ... Jump to: navigation, search Baptism is a water purification ritual practiced in certain religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and has its origins with the Jewish ritual of tahara. ... The circled U indicates that this can of tuna is certified kosher by the Union of Orthodox Congregations. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. ...

Strict quotas were imposed on kahals and the leaders were forced to turn against their own communities. As the wealthy and the guild members were not obligated or bribed their way out, the policy deeply sharpened social tensions. The practice of informers and kidnappers (Russian: "ловчики", lovchiki, Yiddish: "khapers") proliferated, as many potential conscripts preferred to run away rather than voluntarily submit to the virtual death sentence to which the long conscription period sometimes amounted. In the case of unfulfilled quotas, younger boys were taken. Their fate was described by Yiddish and Russian literature classics. A quota is a prescribed number or share of something. ... A shtadlan, also known as the court Jew, was an intercessor figure who represented interests of the local Jewish community (such as of a towns ghetto), and worked as a lobbyist pleading for the safety of Jews with the outside authorities of Medieval Europe. ... A guild is an association of people of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards of morality or conduct. ... Bribery is the practice of offering a professional money or other favours in order to circumvent ethics in a variety of professions. ... Jump to: navigation, search Yiddish (Yid. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ... Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ...

While being convoyed to his Siberian exile at Vyatka, Alexander Herzen met a unit of emaciated Jewish Cantonists, some 8 years old, who were marching to Perm and then to Kazan. Their officer complained that a third had already died ("Беда да и только, треть осталась на дороге" -- "Былое и думы", My Past and Thoughts, end of Chapter 13). Jump to: navigation, search Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir’, Sibir; from the Tatar for “sleeping land”) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... Kirov (Ки́ров) is a city in eastern European Russia, on the Vyatka River, capital of Kirov Oblast. ... Jump to: navigation, search Alexander Herzen in 1867 Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen (Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен) (April 6 (O.S. 25 March) 1812 in Moscow - January 21 (O.S. 9 January) 1870 in Paris) was a major Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the father of Russian socialism. He is held responsible for... Perm (Пермь, pop. ... Kazan (Tatar Qazan, Казан, Russian Казань) is the capital city of Tatarstan and one of Russias largest cities. ...

The policy was abolished in 1855, with the death of Nicholas I. It is estimated that between 30,000 to 70,000 Jewish boys served as the cantonists; most never returned to their homes. After 25-year conscription term, former cantonists were allowed to live outside the Pale of Settlement as useful Jews. 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The term useful Jew was used in various historical contexts, typically describing a Jewish person useful in implementing an official policy, sometimes by oppressing other Jews. ...

See also

• Kashrut
• Anti-Semitism

Jump to: navigation, search The circled U indicates that this product is certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union (OU). ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ...

External links

• CANTONISTS, by Herman Rosenthal
• Фронтовой соловей, by Eduard Flink (in Russian)
• Кантонистские школы (in Russian)
• Кантонисты (in Russian)
• Былое и думы. Часть вторая (Alexander Herzen, My Past and Thoughts, Part Two; in Russian)
• Dancing with the Torah