11. The superfluous

Most Polish Jews are devout. However, even during the High Holy Days the number of suicides among Polish Jews is frighteningly high. This is the case even among those who are deeply embedded in family life. The main source of their despair is that hundreds of thousands of them are economically superfluous. The Jewish daily press recounts the particular circumstances that have led a growing number of Jews to take their own lives. The red thread running through all these accounts is that the victims’ businesses failed, they were unable find work, they could no longer support their families, their prospects had been dashed, and they no longer had hope. Their only means of “protest” was to commit suicide.