Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews (/ˌɑːʃkəˈnɑːzi, ˌæʃ-/ A(H)SH-kə-NAH-zee; also known as Ashkenazic Jews, Ashkenazis, or Ashkenazim) form a distinct ethnicity of the Jewish diaspora, emerging from the Jewish communities that consolidated during the 10th century in the Rhineland (western Germany) and in Northern France, having migrated there from centers such as Italy and the Middle East. They later began a gradual eastward migration due to the Crusades (11th–13th centuries), and mounting restrictions within the Holy Roman Empire. Particularly following the persecution during the Black Death in the 14th century, the bulk of the Ashkenazi Jews then migrated to the Kingdom of Poland, at the encouragement of Casimir III the Great and his successors, making Poland the main center of Ashkenazi Jewry until the Holocaust.

Ashkenazim adapted their traditions to Europe, and underwent a transformation in their interpretation of Judaism. They traditionally follow the German rite synagogue ritual and until the Holocaust primarily spoke Yiddish, an offshoot of Middle High German written in a variety of the Hebrew script, with significant Hebrew, Aramaic and Slavic influence. From the late 18th century onwards, Ashkenazi communities underwent significant religious and cultural transformations, under the influence of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) and the struggle for Jewish emancipation in European states that restricted their rights. Among other things, Maskilim (adherents of the Haskalah) advocated the adoption of national languages instead of Yiddish, as well as increased study and usage of the Hebrew language, in order to modernize Jewish religious practice and identity. The Hebrew language, whose usage until then had been primarily liturgical and clerical, was progressively revived as a common language starting from the 19th century, fueled by these aspirations of both religious and national revival. The Yiddish language progressively declined in prestige, in favor of national languages and Hebrew, being stigmatized by assimilationists and later also Zionists, though it remained spoken by over 11 million people worldwide prior to the Holocaust.

Starting from the 19th century, millions of Ashkenazi Jews emigrated to the United States, which now houses the largest Ashkenazi community in the world. Throughout the centuries, Ashkenazim made significant contributions to Western philosophy, scholarship, literature, art, music, and science. As a proportion of the world Jewish population, Ashkenazim were estimated to be 3% in the 11th century, rising to 92% in 1930 near the population's peak. The Ashkenazi population was significantly diminished by the Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II, which killed around six million Jews, affecting practically every European Jewish family. In 1933, prior to World War II, the estimated worldwide Jewish population was 15.3 million. Israeli demographer and statistician Sergio D. Pergola implied that Ashkenazim comprised 65–70% of Jews worldwide in 2000, while other estimates suggest more than 75%. As of 2013, the population was estimated to be between 10 million and 11.2 million.