Abstract

Until the interwar period, the term "the East End" functioned largely as a metaphor, symbolizing problems of urban poverty and crime. The term had little meaning for the residents of the area, whose horizons were limited to the immediate surroundings of street and neighborhood. These surroundings provided a localized sense of community, and formed the basis of working-class networks of reciprocity. The Jewish residents of the East End were not part of these communities—they formed their own localized communities that were also based on territory and exchange. In the interwar period, however, a new community was created. Due to a series of developments in work patterns, leisure, and politics, the horizons of the East End's residents began to expand, to encompass the entire East End. For the first time they began to see themselves as East Enders, a local identity which included both the Jewish and non-Jewish populations of the area.

pdf

Share