Demographic Avant-Garde
This book studies the unique demographic behavior of Jews in Bohemia (the historic name of Czechia), starting from a moment in history when industrialization in Central Europe was still far away in the future, and when Jews were still living legally restricted lives in ghettos. Very early on, however, from the 18th century onwards, Jews developed patterns of decreasing mortality and fertility that was not observed among the gentile majority in Bohemia; patterns which established them as a demographic avant-garde population in all of Europe.
Demographic Avant-Garde elucidates what made Jews in Bohemia true forerunners of the demographic transition and why this occurred when it did. It scrutinizes demographic statistics from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century, and examines what made Bohemian Jews’ data distinct from the trends observed in the gentile community and among Jews in other lands. In search for the answers, Vobecká’s analysis touches also upon the cultural, social, political and economic environment.
List of Tables
List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgements
Part 1. The Concept of a Demographic Avant-Garde: Three Keys 1
Chapter 1. Population Change, Demographic Transition and Its Forerunners
Chapter 2. Historical Context: The Case of Jews in Bohemia
Chapter 3. Data Sources: Correct Use and Interpretation
Part 2. Jewish Population Development in Bohemia: Trends and Transitions from the Mid-Eighteenth to the Mid-Twentieth Century
Chapter 4. Population Growth and Spatial Distribution
Chapter 5. Population Structure: Sex, Age, and Marital Status
Chapter 6. Marital Patterns: Nuptiality and Divorce
Chapter 7. Fertility
Chapter 8. Mortality and Causes of Death
Chapter 9. Natural Population Increase, Migration, Religious Disaffiliation, and Acculturation
Part 3. Social and Economic Characteristics of Jews in Bohemia
Chapter 10. Linguistic Identity and Ethnicity
Chapter 11. Education System and Enrolment
Chapter 12. Social Status, Professional Structure, and Economic Contributions
Conclusion
List of References and Data Sources
Appendices