Pioneers of industrialization in Western Galicia : the Baruch family in the nineteenth century

The article is a commentary on and supplement to an autobiographical text written by a descendant of a family of Jewish industrialists active in Podgórze and Krakow in the nineteenth century. The Baruchs moved from supplies and trading to industrial operations. Although the factories producing fl our, bread and building materials operated in the Krakow area, they mainly supplied the city and the Austrian army stationed there. The family achieved a high social status, which was manifested during public ceremonies. International and local competition led them to abandon their industrial activity.