Cantonist

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1 Cantonists in Prussia
2 Cantonists in Russia
3 See also
4 Notes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Cantonists in Prussia

Cantonists (German: Kantonist, or a person living in a canton) were recruits in Prussia in 1733-1813, liable for draft in one of the cantons. Each canton was responsible for creating its own regiment.

[edit] Cantonists in Russia

Cantonists (Russian language: Кантонисты) were sons of Russian private soldiers who from 1805 were educated in special "canton schools" (Кантонистские школы) for future military service (the schools were called garrison schools in the 18th century); after 1827 the term was applied also to Jewish boys, who were drafted to military service at the age of twelve and placed for their military education in cantonist schools of distant provinces. Like all other conscripts, they were required to serve in the Russian army for 25 years, according to the law signed by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia on August 26 (September 7 new style), 1827. A disproportionate number (ten recruits for every thousand of inhabitants ^[1]) of Jewish minors under 18 years of age, and sometimes younger, were placed in such preparatory military training establishments. Even though boys as young as eight were frequently taken, the 25-year term officially commenced at the age of 18.

The vast majority of Jews entered the Russian Empire with the territories acquired as the result of the last Partitions of Poland of the 1790s; their civil rights were severely restricted (see Pale of Settlement). Most lacked knowledge of the official Russian language. Before 1827, Jews were doubly taxed in lieu of being obligated to serve in the army, and their inclusion did alleviate this burden. However the political restrictions led to widespread destitution.

The Cantonist institutions existed before 1827 in order to prepare Christian or Muslim boys whose fathers were serving in the army, for prospective service, but the new law redesigned them to include Jews. One of the goals behind the compulsory military service was to integrate Jewish boys into the Russian society (effectively to the detriment of their religious and national identity).

Strict quotas were imposed on kahals and the leaders were given the unpleasant task of implementation of conscription in their own communities. As the wealthy and the merchant-guild members were not obligated or bribed their way out, the policy deeply sharpened social tensions. The practice of informers and kidnappers (Russian: "ловчики", lovchiki, Yiddish: khappers) proliferated, as many potential conscripts preferred to run away rather than voluntarily submit. In the case of unfulfilled quotas, younger boys were taken. Their fate was described by Yiddish and Russian literature classics, albeit unrealistically, as such literature was written long after the military reform of 1857 that abolished cantonism, and usually relied on lacrimose mythology.

The boys in Cantonist schools were given extensive training in Russian grammar and literature, and mathematics. Those who showed aptitude for music were trained in singing and instrumental music, as the Imperial Army had a large demand for military bands and choirs.

An official policy was to encourage their conversion to the state religion of Orthodox Christianity and Jewish boys were coerced to baptism (the unconverted could not be promoted above the rank of lieutenant (there were some exceptions of the uncoverted reaching the rank of colonel)). As kosher food was naturally unavailable, the boys were faced with the necessity of abandoning Jewish dietary laws.

While being convoyed to his exile in 1835 at Vyatka, Alexander Herzen met a unit of emaciated Jewish Cantonists, some 8 years old, who were marched to Kazan. Their (sympathetic) officer complained that a third had already died ("Беда да и только, треть осталась на дороге."^[2]).

The policy was abolished in 1857, in the aftermath of the Russian defeat in the Crimean war, which made evident the dire necessity for the modernisation of the Russian military forces. It is estimated that between 30,000 to 70,000 Jewish boys served as the cantonists; most never returned to their homes. After 25-year conscription term, former cantonists were allowed to live anywhere outside the Pale of Settlement. The rate of conversion was generally high, as was eventual intermarriage.

An excellent study by Yohanan Petrovsky-Stern "Drafted into Modernity: Jews in the Russian Army (1827-1917)." will be published in 2007 at Stanford University Press.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

^ Yohanan Petrovsky-Stern "Drafted into Modernity: Jews in the Russian Army (1827-1917)."
^ "Былое и думы", My Past and Thoughts, end of Chapter 13

[edit] References

Simon Dubnow, The Newest History of the Jewish People, 1789-1914 Vol. 2 (Russian ed. ISBN 5-93273-105-2) pp. 141-149, 306-308
Alexander Herzen, Recollections and Thoughts
CANTONISTS, by Herman Rosenthal at Jewish Encyclopedia, 1901-1906
Benjamin Nathans, Beyond the Pale: The Jewish encounter with late imperial Russia (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. 2002). pp.26-38