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Jewish Life: Language and Locations from Middle Ages to 1933
- 1. Jewish Life: Language and Locations from Middle Ages to 1933 Star of David (https://www.flickr.com/photos/nevenka/503364085 5/) by Nevenka Mazic (CC BY-NC 2.0)
- 2. MIDDLE AGES
- 4. Land owners needed people to look after their estates Jews all spoke Yiddish – across Europe Jews worked these positions to get effect due to the ease of language Jews began to work as money lenders, traders and revenue farming but to fund this they borrowed from their nobles who they were now indebted to To make sure the nobles profited they settled Jews on their lands and became their ‘overlords and protectors’ As Jews ran so many of the Estates they were indispensible to the economy – so they got more privileges (particularly in Poland) Were now the middle men between nobles and peasants – nobles not well like but the Jews were now tightly linked to them, leading to economic conflict
- 5. Economic conflict coupled with observable religious differences contributed to overall negative image of Jews. Stereotypes began to immerge. EG: a conflict between a Jewish moneylender and their Polish debtor. 1648 Peasant Uprising in Poland looking for autonomy – want out from under the thumb of the Nobles. Due to tight affliation with the Nobles the Jews were also targeted. These peasants were called Cossacks. About 25% of Polish Jewry were killed at this time. The stereotypes formed out of the religious and economic conflicts in the Middle Ages would linger in the collective consciousness for centuries and would ultimately prove devastating.
- 6. 19TH CENTURY
- 7. 1812 – Edict of Hardenberg: More rights than ever before (Germany). 1815 – Edict was revoked. Jews once more relied on the good will of rulers. Late 19th century Otto Von Bismarck, the then First Chancellor of the German Empire, granted Jews equal rights by making prejudice based on religion illegal. Some major changes at this time in the ways Jews practiced: ◦ Reform Judaism - “be a human being in public, be a Jew in your home” believed true assimilation was possible. Not just living in their communities Political Parties that were antiemetic sprung up since the late 19th century - These groups were successful in portraying Jews as greedy and as communists, ultimately establishing the “Jewish Question” in political agenda and public opinion.
- 8. THE EVOLUTION OF MODERN ANTISEMITISM, 1870-1933
- 9. 1870 – It all changes Antisemitism changed from general oddity to social, political and national arenas. New antisemitism – based on ‘science’. Very dangerous as it could be “justified and reasonable”
- 10. New Ideologies New ideologies emerged and became the 4 facets of modern antisemitism: Socialism – believed capitalism is the problem with the world (i.e. social injustice and poverty). Karl Marx was the father of this ideology and he claimed Jews were the embodiment of these. Liberal Capitalism – opposed socialism and ideas like social justice. They saw Jews as leaders of social and political revolutions. ◦ These 2 ideologies are at opposite sides of the political spectrum – suggesting that Jews were a danger across the spectrum. Nationalism – during this period it meant an ‘organic bond’ meaning that their ancestry was always in that area – Jews are from Israel so they wholly didn’t belong (again). Needed a common history and culture (Jewish culture is very different). Racism – race is defined, at this time, by characteristics such as “personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioural features” and prescribes to the ideas of Social Darwinism. Racism is lent a pseudo-scientific credibility now. ◦ Traditional forms of anti-Semitism allowed for those Jews who converted to Christianity to be accepted, however, with this modern ‘scientific’ racial anti-Semitism the very nature of Jews prevented them from ever becoming accepted, as nothing could change “all
- 11. East vs West (1870-1933 ) Interestingly: In the East (Russia) Jews were actually given more rights, while in the rest of Western Europe rights were being stripped away. 1914 – many Jews fought for Germany in WW1. German’s blamed them for their defeat calling them backstabbers
Editor's Notes
- Notes for Whole Section During the Middle Ages Polish society was extremely hierarchical based on wealth and position, there were three main levels – the King; followed by wealthy landowners and nobles; then the peasants (who worked the land for the nobles). While the nobles owned the estates, they needed people to look after them; these were jobs that Jews readily took on. During this time, many Jews worked as tax collectors or property managers, these positions allowed those who worked them to prosper. All Jews in Europe spoke Yiddish, which aided the Polish Jews’ enterprises in moneylending, trade and revenue farming. In order to fund these endeavours Jews borrowed money from the nobles, thus indebting themselves to them. To ensure that the nobles profited, the big landowners settled Jews on their land, and even founded cities for the Jews to settle on thus, becoming the “protectors and overlords of ‘their’ Jews”. As the Jews ran many of the major estates they had made themselves indispensible to the Polish economy, which contributed to the privileges the Jews received in Poland. Jews effectively became the middlemen between the nobles and the peasants and came to be seen as fundamentally intertwined with the exploitive nobles, leading to an economic conflict. This conflict, coupled with the observable religious differences contributed to an overall negative image of the Polish Jews. Stereotypes began to emerge out of adverse situations, for example a conflict between a Jewish moneylender and their Polish debtor. In 1648 Cossack Bogdan Chmielnicki lead a peasant uprising with the aim of achieving autonomy. While the nobility were the targets of the uprising, because of their close affiliation with nobles, Jews were targeted as well. It is estimated that as much as 25% of the Polish Jewry were murdered by the Cossacks. Of course, this was just a precursor for the devastation of the 20th century, where the Jews faced unprecedented horrors. The stereotypes formed out of the religious and economic conflicts in the Middle Ages would linger in the collective consciousness for centuries and would ultimately prove devastating.
- After Napoleon’s defeat of the Prussian army and the subsequent issue of the Edict of Hardenberg in 1812, the German Jewry were awarded more rights than any previous point in their history. With the fall of Napoleon in 1815, the Edict was revoked and the Jewry again were reliant on their rulers good will. By the late 19th century Otto Von Bismarck, the then First Chancellor of the German Empire, supported a liberal party plan to ban all restrictions based on religion, thereby granting Jews equal rights. During this period Moses Mendelssohn’s modern Judaism was able to flourish in Berlin. This phase in Jewish history was heavily influenced by ideas from the Enlightenment. Those members of the German Jewry who subscribed to these beliefs called for major transformations within the belief and practice of Judaism. Reform Judaism was founded in Berlin by these members of the community and called upon Mendelssohn’s ideals to “be a human being in public, be a Jew in your home” which led them to believe that true assimilation into mainstream German culture would be possible. By the end of the 19th century, Berlin was home to almost 100,000 Jews and was the centre for all major Jewish organisations. As the cities economic influence grew, so too did the roles the Jews of Berlin played in it. Jews saw themselves as integral to German culture, however, since Unification many social and political groups were established, founded on anti-Semitism. These groups were successful in portraying Jews as greedy and as communists, ultimately establishing the “Jewish Question” in political agenda and public opinion. Jews were not contrasted against Germans based on religion but on cultural and racial characteristics. 1914 saw the outbreak of World War I where many Jews signed-up to fight for Germany, confident of a swift victory. Returning home in defeat, Germans began blaming Jews for their “shameful surrender” and for “backstabbing” behaviour. Despite this, Jewish civil rights were assured in 1919 under the new republic. However, during this period of extreme despair and economic depression, former soldier Adolph Hitler (whose anti-Semitic rhetoric and superior oratory skills enthralled the German public) led the National Socialist Workers Party. After the 1933 election Hitler and his Nazi party systematically set about removing all civil and economic rights for Jews in Germany and ultimately beyond.
- Notes for whole section: While anti-Semitism existed long before the 1870s, it was at this time that a shift in how Jews were perceived emerged. The anti-Semitism changed from a basic, yet fundamental, general oddity, to the social, political and national arenas. This shift was responsible for the Jewish ‘problem’ becoming adopted by political parties and ideologies, the danger with this so-called new form of anti-Semitism was that its advocates claimed that it was based on science and was therefore justifiable and reasoned. Through the 1800s the ideas of socialism and nationalism emerged as powerful ideologies, these coupled with the inherent racism that the Jews faced were the key ideas framing modern anti-Semitism. Socialism is centred on the idea that capitalism is the cause of poverty and social injustice, and Karl Marx, the father of socialism, identified Jews as the ‘spirit of capitalism’. While not all socialists held these views, the anti-Semitic ideology was enough to frame Jews as the money-hungry, manipulative villain. Additionally, liberal capitalists, who opposed the socialist ideas of social justice and equity, also opposed Jews, noting that many leaders of social movements were Jews and thus associated them with political and social revolution. This contradictory ‘modern’ anti-Semitism therefore suggested that Jews were a danger to both sides of the political spectrum. This period of history is often referred to as the ‘Age of Nations’ and while national identity had long been defined as being a citizen of a nation, during this period, that definition shifted to mean the “organic bond” that citizens shared – meaning that Jews no longer belonged as this required a common history and culture. Many countries became radicalised through their nationalist political parties who pointed first to the Jews as not belonging to these new nations. In France a common myth existed that Jews ruled the nation and it was consequently not purely French. In Germany, romanticism coupled with nationalism asserted that Germans began in the Teutonic Forest and therefore, by their very make-up the Jews could not belong. The final aspect of modern anti-Semitism is racism, which is where humans are divided into races, identifiable based on characteristics such as “personality, intellect, morality, and other cultural and behavioural features” and prescribes to the ideas of Social Darwinism. Thanks to this categorisation racism was lent a pseudo-scientific credibility. Traditional forms of anti-Semitism allowed for those Jews who converted to Christianity to be accepted, however, with this modern ‘scientific’ racial anti-Semitism the very nature of Jews prevented them from ever becoming accepted, as nothing could change “all Jews for all time.” Regardless of how it was dressed up by its advocates, modern anti-Semitism depended on deeply rooted anti-Jewish prejudices and was designed to highlight the perceived differences and foster fear and hatred, ultimately leading to the genocide faced by the European Jewry.
- There were fundamental differences between anti-Semitism in eastern (Russia) and western Europe, while early Russian anti-Semitism was based on Christian beliefs and prejudice, after the 1917 revolution anti-Semitism was deemed illegal and the Bolsheviks sought to remove all prejudice and restore rights, whereas in Eastern Europe during this time saw the removal of rights from Jews, particularly in Germany. In the 19th century the Russian Czar derived his power from the Russian Orthodox Church which is why religion based anti-Semitism was widespread. Additionally, at this time there was a lot of political and social upheaval in Russia, during this the political leaders used anti-Semitism as a tool to preserve the Czarist rule by shifting the focus of blame from the leadership of the country to something more controllable – the Jews. This shift accounts for why the Jews experienced a steady increase in economic restrictions. After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917 the first communist constitution was established in 1918 which reinstated equal rights for Jews and actually made anti-Semitism a crime. Conversely in western Europe at the time fundamental ideologies like nationalism and racism saw Jews as villains for their roles in social revolution and as racial inferiors. Therefore, considering that the new rulers of Russia (the Bolshevik’s) were in power thanks to a social and political revolution it is understandable why their attitudes towards anti-Semitism were different.