Josef Mendelevitch, *The Cantonists: Jewish Boys in the Russian Military, 1827-1856*. Rachelle Emanuel, trans. Boston: Academic Studies Press (in Partnership with Touro University Press in New York), 2025.
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Josef Mendelevitch, *The Cantonists: Jewish Boys in the Russian Military, 1827-1856*. Rachelle Emanuel, trans. Boston: Academic Studies Press (in Partnership with Touro University Press in New York), 2025.
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About this listen
Before 1917, the Russian Tsar wielded total power over a sprawling empire, where more than 5 million Jews lived in seclusion and segregation. During the reign of Tsar Nicholas I (1825–1855), the treatment of Jews became especially brutal. Nicholas sought to obliterate Jewish identity by compelling Jews to convert to Christianity and promoting assimilation through intermarriage. One of the most heartless acts under Nicholas I was the implementation of the Cantonist system, which forcibly enlisted Jewish boys under the age of 13 into military service. These young boys were cruelly torn from their families and communities, suffering severe mistreatment, and were incessantly pressured to abandon their faith. Over a span of thirty years, approximately 75,000 Jewish boys were conscripted. In spite of the immense hardships, the majority remained resolute, with only 25% succumbing to conversion. This heartrending account underscores a grim chapter in modern history, illustrating the resilience of a people facing extreme oppression under a tyrannical regime.