Mevzu – Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi

Öz

Although Jews preferred to live separately from the Christian majority in various European cities during the Middle Ages, this was often not left to their choice and separate settlements were created for them. Surrounded by a wall, separated from the other part of the city both legally and physically, and locked at night, these neighborhoods were first called ghettos in the sixteenth century due to the fact that they were located near a foundry (geto) in Venice. Later, the term expanded to include all Jewish quarters of the same type.
Schtetl, on the other hand, are small Jewish towns usually found in Eas-tern Europe, particularly in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. These towns, where the majority of the population consists of Jews, have become a haven for Jews fleeing the violence that is often seen in Central Europe since the Late Middle Ages. Over time, Schtetl has been shaped by traditions, beliefs and social structures that reflect the ethnic and religious identities of the Jews, creating a life culture unique to the Jewish community. However, these voluntarily settled and naturally expanded Jewish towns continued to maintain their connection with the Christian communities, creating a different Jewish settlement model from the Ghetto.
The study reveals the forms of Jewish settlement shaped by the dynamics of Central and Eastern Europe along with their emergence processes and their changes in the historical process. Qualitative method and literature search technique were used as the method. According to the data obtained as a result of the resource search, the aspects of the schtetl and the ghetto that differ significantly in terms of their nature and historical contexts have been considered comparatively, and the religious, socio-economic factors underlying the differences have been tried to be examined.