ABSTRACT
The ethnic composition of the population of Lwow was quite mixed. Just before World War II, the population numbered 330,000. Nationalistic feelings ran high among the Ukrainian farmers in the countryside. Jewish citizens of Lwow, often acted as the swing vote in the local elections and tended to side with the Poles on most issues rather than with the Ukrainians. Jews had lived in Lwow since the thirteenth century. Jews were given special rights in Lwow by various Polish kings, well before they became accepted as full citizens in other cities of Poland. Religious life and social and educational services for Jews were under the direction of a Kahal, which enjoyed a large degree of autonomy and was administered by elected activists. One of the three members of the leadership of the Lwow Kahal just before World War II was Michal Ulam, Adam Ulam's uncle.
