A Revolutionary Jewish woman during the Holocaust: Hinda Deul and the Holocaust in Oszmiana, Belarus
ENIn the traditional East-European Jewish society between the two World Wars, few women held key public positions or performed political roles. Men were the main providers for the family and held all public positions, while women were expected to take care of the children and the household. There were hardly any prominent female political figures in the Jewish communities, and the social involvement of women, if any, was carried out behind the scenes. But this changed in times of crisis. During the Holocaust, women had to replace men who were deported or killed and take upon themselves public roles. This change had been affected by internal and external processes and events. The harsh reality of the war and the predicament of the Jews caused chaos and revolution in traditional norms and disintegrated the social fabric of many communities. While men were absent or malfunctioned, the phenomena of expanded duties, new initiatives, and gaining influential positions by women was growing.
