The figures of Ashkenazi Jews appear in works representing various cultural backgrounds. A very
interesting light on the literary way of shaping their image is shed by the characters of works that are very culturally
and thematically distant from each other: The First Polka by Horst Bienek and The Odessa Tales by Isaac
Babel. Georg Montag and Benia Krik represent two different approaches to the question of the existence of the
Jewish nation, its coexistence with representatives of the dominant culture and the preservation of identity.
Thanks to the analysis, one can observe not only numerous assimilation crises, but also the characteristics of the
described cultural and social norms
