The trend for sport and tourism among Jews living in the Polish lands began in the early 20th century. Undoubtedly, sports exhibitions held before World War I in Warsaw and later in the Second Republic of Poland in Lwów (Lviv), Poznań and Wilno (Vilnius) contributed to the spread of physical activity and learning about the country.

The first sports exhibition in 1903 was organised at the headquarters of the Warsaw Cyclists’ Association. The initiators of this event were Polish organisations: Warsaw Cyclists’ Society, Warsaw Rowing Society, Warsaw Skating Society, Horse Racing Society, and the Society of Proper Hunters.

In the period of the Second Republic of Poland there were tourist sections at many social, political and economic organisations. The largest organisation of this type founded by Jews was the Jewish Tourist Society, established in 1926. It published a weekly supplement “Tourism and Sightseeing” within the daily “Our Review” with an average circulation of 2,000 copies.

The Society in the 1930s had 30 municipal branches which organised tours, lectures, and courses. It also had hostels and excursion houses, e.g. in Karwia, Worochta, Zakopane and Zaleszczyki. Sections of the Society for motorcycling, canoeing, skiing, and swimming were also established. In addition, a library of 1,000 volumes was collected, consisting of scientific books and 200 maps on sightseeing and tourism. In addition, a photographic laboratory was set up.

Between 1926 and 1937, more than one and a half thousand excursions were organised with more than 33,500 participants. In addition to the Society ŻTK, there were other tourist societies, such as the Jewish Academic Circle of Sightseeing Enthusiasts, with its first branch founded in March 1923 in Warsaw.