Seeking relative safety: the flight of Polish Jews to the east in the autumn of 1939

Examines factors in Polish Jews' decision-making early in the war with regard to the attempt to flee to the Soviet Union. Based on survivor memoirs and oral testimonies, the authors find that family, gender and geography were crucial to these decisions. Whereas Polish Jewish women seemed to be more likely to argue for remaining under German occupation, men were more likely to consider fleeing.