Nov 1st Blog Question

2. Q: What socialist groups did Jews found specifically for Jews, and how were they different from other socialist movements? A:A socialist group only for Jews was the General Association of Jewish Workers in Lithuania, Russia, and Poland in 1897 in Vilna, the Bund for short. The Bund was different from other socialist movements because they wanted to address cultural issues regarding the needs of the Jewish worker. They were also the first political organization that supported and encouraged the notion that Jews protect jewish property and life with weapons. They also expected that the "…dictatorship of the proletariat would transfer responsibility for culture, education, and law to democratic institutions elected by the various national minorities. The Bund also was there to guard the secular culture of Yiddish. They offered Jews in the working-class a Jewish alternative to radical politics. They also believed that the "Jewish Problem" is one that will be solved when the general social revolution occurs. Another socialist group is the Folkspartey led by Shimon Dubnov. Folspartey believed that Zionism wasn't able to answer the needs of many eastern European Jews. Jewish socialist groups were different from other socialist movements due to the fact that eastern Europe Jews were drawn to the type of socialism.

Jorey Rekoon

The anti-semitic parties made it extremely difficult for Jews to be accepted into any location that they tried to stay in. All of the political movements happening at the time attempted to make it appear that Jews were bad people, and that they were also very greedy. This is one of the many typical stereotypes that the anti-Semites implemented for the Jews. They were continuously harassed everywhere they went, and including the places where they were residing.  Jews were inferior to every other race in Europe at the time. Modern anti-Semitism emphasized the hatred of Jews and a race and a religion. Jews were blamed for committing ridiculous crimes, including killing Christian children, which is not true.

Anti-Semitism continued to embrace the Jews feeling of oppression that has been happening for hundreds of years. However during the rise of anti-Semitism, it became particularly worse for Jews. Throughout the rise of anti-Semitism, efforts of emancipation were also anticipated to “fade out Jewishness” in a sense. Almost all Jewish teachers were removed from their positions; because it was believed that it would hurt children instead of help them.

Hannah Wolinsky: FDR and the Jews Pre- Holocaust

I am so glad I attended this lecture on FDR and his attitude towards Jews before the holocaust. Having a grandmother and having had a grandfather who are/were holocaust survivors, I like to gain as much knowledge as possible regarding the holocaust. 

Initially, I thought this lecture would be about FDR during the holocaust, but I liked that it dealt with events prior to the holocaust. I liked this because after receiving a fairly extensive Jewish education at Jewish private school most of my life, I still don't know much about what was happening outside Europe during the rise of the Nazis. 

I enjoyed learning about the different and adaptable aspects to Roosevelt's personality. This lecture got me thinking about what it must have been like to be president of the United States during such a tragic time in history. At the end of the lecture, when the audience was asking questions, it was noted how Roosevelt did not want to get involved in a war for petty reasons, or just to save a limited number of people. Roosevelt was accused of driving the United States into the war because of the Jews. He did not want the world to see World War II as a "Jewish war." This portrays the many conflicts that must have been going on in Roosevelt's mind when considering how to help the Jews of Europe, but still remaining as a favorable president. In addition to fearing resentment from the United States, Roosevelt's wife was never a leader when it came to helping the Jews. Eleanor Roosevelt actually grew up in an anti-semitic family. She eventually out-grew her antisemitism but certainly was not passionate about helping the Jews, as FDR was. This is very interesting to me! I like not only learning about Roosevelt (a male) and his influence in helping the Jews, but also learning about an influential female’s approach to what was going on.

Hearing the true story behind the mythical SS St. Louis story was cool and it was relieving to learn that most (2/3) of the Jews on the ship survived. Going along with this SS St. Louis story, I learned about some of the places that accepted Jews and the circumstances under which they accepted Jews. Also, I thought the briefly mentioned idea that Shang Hai was one of the only places to accept Jews without a visa was really intriguing.

There are many other aspects to this lecture that were new and compelling to me. Overall, I really enjoyed it :) 

FDR Lecture

Overall, I thought the lecture on Franklin Roosevelt and the Jews was interesting. I was unaware at how much time and effort Roosevelt put in to try to save the Jews from the war. He tried very hard to warn others about the dangers ahead if the Jews were to stay in Germany. For example, in 1938 Roosevelt had a meeting with Rabbi Steven Wise, where he suggested to Wise that the situation for the Jews going to be difficult and they should leave Germany. Wise wanted to focus on Palestine rather than the Jews in Germany. Roosevelt also offered many ideas on how to situation better for Jew, such as quotas. Another thing that I was surprised about was that Bolivia was the highest rescuer per quota. There was about 20,000 visa’s given to Jews from 1938-1941. Furthermore, I enjoyed hearing the true story about the SS St. Louis and how two thirds of the Jews survived. They went to places such as France and Belgium and eventually about half came to the United States. I am glad I went to the lecture, especially since I am from Hyde Park, the home of the Roosevelt’s.

FDR Talk

I was only able to spend half an hour at the talk but this is the information I received:

Franklin D. Roosevelt was described as a mold-able politician by Professor Brikemen. This meant the FDR would change how he talked depending on who he was talking to, not trying to offend anyone. There are different versions of FDR and Brikemen focused mostly on the "2nd Franklin."  The problem with FDR is that he never kept a diary and would not write long extensive notes, making finding documents extremely hard. Other people like McDonalds and Sweeser (sp?) kept a journal or wrote documents that created a window in FDR's life.

2nd FDR was reelected, with a high domestic policy (The New Deal). But he lacked in foreign policy which was stopped by Congress. Congress agreed with the isolationists of the US. After WWI, which most Americans thought was a mistake, did not want to get involved in other people's issues. In 1938 Nazi Germany took over Austria and parts of Czech. FDR was worrying that something was about to happen. So FDR had a meeting with Rabbi Steven Wise. Wise was mostly focusing on Palestine and getting back to the promise land. FDR thought Palestine was exhausted, artificial restrictions and would not accommodate all the Jews and things were just going to get worse.

I wish I could have stayed for more of the talk, but he was very interesting.

Reaction to FDR and the Holocaust

Amanda Aussems

Blog Reaction

October 30, 2013 (Wednesday)

Reaction to FDR and the Jews Presentation

First and foremost, I just wanted to say that I was really glad I decided to go to this presentation. I really found the speech interesting and felt that I gained much insight to more of the political aspects of the precursors to the Holocaust. Although much information was presented, the topics that struck me the most had to do with the “Four versions of FDR”. I was surprised to find out that Roosevelt was considered a very adaptable president in the fact that he reacted differently in different situations. For example in a conversation with a Zionist he would take a Zionist stand, in a conversation with an anti-Semite he would take an anti-Semitic stand, etc. The presentation focused on the “2^nd FDR”. This version of FDR is not as well known which to me was sad because this FDR was the one who seemed to strive to get the Jews out of Germany and Austria. I liked the fact that this presentation was centered around the many approaches FDR worked toward in order to help the Jews seek refuge before the struggles became too much to bear in Europe. I was also shocked by the S.S. St. Louis Ship story. I didn’t know about that prior to the presentation. I was really pretty ignorant to all the attempts and political aspects concerning the US and Europe during the time period leading up to WWII and I think I now have more awareness by attending this presentation. 

(I also took notes on the presentation but they are handwritten and not nearly in depth as Zeke's.)

FDR and the Holocaust

The speaker tonight was very interesting as he spoke about hat he refers to as the "second" of the "three  FDR's" we know of. He admits that most people know the third FDR, which is he spoke about the second. The FDR who turned away the S.S. St. Louis with thousands of Jews on board from docking in the US for political gains.

When I was in Israel over the summer on birthright we actually discussed this moment in history when we visited Yad Vashem (The Holocaust Museum just outside Jerusalem). While we were there we learned about the S.S. St. Louis being turned away from docking in the US with the Jews onboard just before the Holocaust started. We learned, I guess the Hollywood version of the story, that many of these Jews ultimately died being dispersed throughout countries in Europe that eventually fell to Nazi Germany. We were taught this because, we were obviously Americans on birthright, and the tour guide felt it was important to know that the United States was not the hero we claim to be during World War II saving the Jews from Nazi Germany. It was interesting to hear this story since Israel obviously has no reason to feel ill towards the US, as we back them on almost everything.

According to the speaker, FDR did this for political leeway to get Congress to change our foreign neutrality policy to enable us to go to engage in the war economically, and eventually militarily.

I enjoyed the speaker very much, it was interesting to hear him talk about the "second" of the three FDR's that less people know about.

FDR and the S.S. Saint Louis

FDR was a very difficult man to analyze due to the fact that he did not allow records to be kept of his conversations.  At the same time being a politician he was able to talk to many people in a similar manner, Jews received one answer while anti semites heard another.  The result was that there were very few documents concerning FDR's stance upon the Jews and his own speeches were difficult to decipher.  One source claimed that immediately after Germany's invasion of Austria FDR wanted to evacuate all of the Jews from Germany and surrounding areas.  In 1936 FDR was re-elected with an impressive record of local policy but almost no foreign policy, paralleling the wishes of the public.  At the time over 25,000 Germans were allowed to immigrate to the U.S. but due to a little known clause many were denied.  After his reelection FDR instructed the diplomats to stop denying Germans and Jewish immigration increased dramatically.  1938 FDR suggested that Jews leave Europe in fear of a coming war.  One of the Jewish notables of the time however desired a return of the Jewish people to Palestine.  A small movement by a minority of Jews wished for a Jewish homeland outside of Palestine.  After the invasion of Austria FDR wanted to increase immigration by combining the immigration quota of Germany and Austria, but was unable to increase the maximum quota.  To do more FDR began to work to get other countries inside of Europe to accept greater amounts of refugees, he avoided using the term Jew due to the anti semitism throughout Europe.  Most countries were against such immigrations and FDR was limited to trying to negotiate with Nazi Germany to allow greater numbers of Jews leave the country.  At the time Germany had not begun to persecute the Jews and negotiations were seen to be possible.  Due to the policy of the Nazis' of seizing Jews' property the Jews who attempted to leave were commonly seen by other countries to be an economic burden.  Many isolationist also believed that if Nazi Germany could solve its "Jewish Question" war might be able to be averted.  After the "Night of Broken Glass" diplomats were encouraged to speak with their host country and stress the concern of the Jews safety, more commonly than not this failed.  A number of Jews however were able to escape to the Dominican Republic and Bolivia, Bolivia received over 20,000 Jews.
In 1939 there were 300,000 Jews requesting visas to the U.S. but only 27,000 were allowed in annually.  Cuba offered a way around this limit.  FDR met with Baptista, the strongman of Cuba, and attempted to work out a plan to accommodate Jewish refugees.  A number of ships left Europe destined for Cuba with tourist visas.  The Saint Louis was the last of these ships and due to backlash by the Cuban president it was not allowed to land.  The ship was not allowed to dock in port and began to wander around, gaining the attention of the coast guard and media.  At the time there was no idea of political asylum and had the ship docked in the U.S. it would have been denied due to them not possessing visas of any type.  FDR had tried to increase the quota of immigrants but at the time he had a greater priority, to have the neutrality act modified so that if France or England went to war the U.S. could help.  While the ship was not allowed to dock in the U.S. no Jews were sent back to Germany, they all went to other countries and a lucky few were allowed to enter Cuba.  On the other side FDR was able to effectively lobby for the modification of the Neutrality acts.  Over 2/3rds of the passengers of the SS Saint Louis survived.  Between 5,000 to 6,000 Jews were able to escape to Cuba before the Saint Louis.
I feel like I write entirely too much for these posts.

Blog Oct 30

Anti-Semitism was the further development of the connection between racial/cultural identities and definitive connotations about those peoples. Jews have always faced oppression, but during this time Jews became identified as the scapegoat of modernity’s ill effects. Jews were able to maintain their culture and religion throughout all of this, which made other groups resentful. The importance they placed on education and hygiene, results of reform, allowed them to increase in population and standard of living. At the same time emancipation efforts were anticipated to fade out Jewishness, but obviously this was not the case. As life became difficult in many urban areas within Europe, people needed someone to blame. Tons of anti-Semitic literature and propaganda was unveiled in an effort to put all the blame on the Jews. Authors like Wilhelm Marr claimed, Jewish acceptance in the Enlightenment allowed them to reach successful places in society. He asserted, due to this acceptance they could no longer be trusted. Almost all Jewish teachers were removed from their positions because it was believed they would hinder the children they taught. Other prominent Jewish professions like bankers and journalists faced incredible scrutiny. Essentially Jews were hated on for their success while other groups faced adversity. 

Steven Gilburne - October 30th - Blog Questions

How did the new anti-semitic parties and political movements impact Jews living in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, and Russia?

The anti-semitic parties made it very difficult for the Jews to be ‘accepted’ into any location that they stayed. The political movements made it appear as if the Jews were greedy and bad people, but it was just a stereotype that the anti-semites implemented. They were harassed in their living establishments and anywhere they went. Jews were viewed as the inferior race to the Europeans. They thought that the Jews were beyond the point of acceptance even if they converted to Christianity. Modern antisemitism emphasized the hatred of the Jews as a race and not only the Jewish religion. Jews were also blamed for killing Christian children, which is not true, and only made them look worse as well. 

Steven Gilburne 

Blog Questions for 8/28

1. How and why did the Jewish population increase so rapidly in the 19th century?

A combination of factors are the reasons for why the Jewish population grew so rapidly in the 19th century. One of the main factors was that the Jewish population was being assimilated into the middle class.  During the 18th century the Jews had to live in such a poor lifestyle that it was hard for them to be successful and healthy.  Once assimilated into the middle class the birth rates went up and the death rates went down.  Living a better lifestyle that was healthier and safer made it easy for the population to grow. 

2. Why did Jews move to cities and which cities became large Jewish centers?

The author uses the term "metropolization" to describe why Jews moved to cities. A lot of the Jews were kicked out of their land in the 18th century and during the 19th century cities became more prominent than farm life.  Jews were some of the first people to urbanize and move to cities in great numbers.  Cities like Amsterdam, Berlin and Salonika were some cities that Jews went to in large numbers.

10/30/13

Antisemitism differed from the racism and exclusion Jews had experienced during the early modern period in a number of ways.  During the early modern period Jews were segregated and confined to a limited number of professions due to their religion and the mentality of rulers.  With good Christians unable to act as money lenders the Jews were able to fill that position.  Despite their usefulness to society many people despised the Jews for their desire and success in retaining their own culture.  Jews were viewed as a minority who only worked for their communities benefit rather than the Christian society as a whole.  Church doctrine that placed blame for the crucifiction of Christ on Judas further created tensions.  The modern period saw the relieving of many of these divides.  No longer confined to money lending and petty trading many Jews embraced modernity and used their education to find new jobs that were previously denied to them.  More crucially while many Jews retained somewhat apart from the majority of society, marrying fellow Jews and sending their children to Jewish schools, the repealment of laws that limited Jews and the teachings of groups such as the Alliance Israelite Universelle caused many to abandon traditional dress and customs to become part of society as a whole.  Thanks to their embracement of education and improved hygiene Jews in many countries saw increases in population as well as education.  Coupled with the fact that Jews were no longer limited to the lowest of professions many Jews quickly became well established in the new middle class.  No longer confined to ghettos the newfound success of Jews was not lost upon their less prosperous neighbors.  As a result it was not hard for many skilled, or deceitful depending on your outlook, politicians to inspire anger towards the Jews.  Due to their  acceptance of enlightenment, "Jews can be accused of anything and blamed for everything, including unbridled capitalism, Marxism, Liberalism, Communism, ethnic exclusiveness, cosmopolitan universalism..."  Some anti-semitic writers such as Wilhelm Marr noted that it was precisely due to their acceptance of new ideas that the Jews were now flourishing.  The backlash from this was a demand for Jews to once again be limited.  Instead of being praised for their high degree of education and work as teachers Jews were removed from their posts out of fear that they would somehow harm the young they taught.  Similarly professions such as bankers and journalists that many Jews were employed as were viewed with suspicion.  Many paranoid or demagogic leaders were easily able to spin the Jews predominance in these professions as attempts to control the country.
In short in the early modern period Jews were persecuted and limited in their options for religious as well as cultural reasons.  In the modern period Jews were feared and despised for their great success.

Blog Oct 28

1.      How and why did the Jewish population increase so rapidly in the 19th century?

During the 19^th century Jewish population experienced exponential growth due to the assimilation into the middle class. In 1800, the Jewish population was estimated to be 2.7 million, but by 1910, the population rose to over 12 million. Entering the middle class was so important during this time period because of the massive gap in standard of living. Those that lived in the low to very poor class were at much higher risk of death due to various reasons. The standard of living for middle class people included higher amounts of income, better overall hygiene, and higher birth rates. Jews specifically were hygienic which allowed them to maintain health. Part of this can be attributed to the Alliance Israelite Universelle who preached this standard of living. Number of pregnancies per family shrunk, but the survival rate of those children rose greatly.

2.      Why did Jews move to cities and which cities became large Jewish centers?

There are various reasons for why the Jews moved into cities because of the many factions within Judaism, especially with geographical differences in mind. Jews have been ostracized many times throughout history, like their expulsion from Spain. This caused many Jews to move into the cities, sometimes unwillingly. Jews had difficulty defining their roots to land because of their disbursement all over the world. Some of the largest cities that held significant Jewish populations included Salonika, Amsterdam, and St. Petersburg. These hubs were centers for Jewish culture and religion, in which the lives of various kinds of Jews and non-Jews intertwined with each other creating an incredibly intricate and sophisticated society

10/28 blog questions

1. How and why did the Jewish population increase so rapidly in the 19th century?

During the 19th century, high birth rates and low death rates were a major contributor to the Jewish population growth. The Jewish population added up to about 2.7 million in 1800, and by 1900 it rose to 8.7 million. By 1910, over 12 million! The Jews were known as much healthier people because they didn’t drink alcohol, and they had smaller families, which meant less mouths’ to feed. Additionally, mothers breast-fed their children more and for a longer period of time. They had a very low infant mortality rate. These all helped lead to the rapid increase in population in the 19^th century.

2. Why did Jews move to cities and which cities became large Jewish centers?

The main reason that Jews began moving into cities was due to the fact that mertropolitanization was starting to become popular in the end of the 19th century. Jews moved into cities and out of rural areas for the better economy due to more job opportunities, as well as for a better education. Bialystok, Berdichev, Grodno, Pinsk, Lvov, Lodz, Lublin, Cracow, and Vilna all saw a large population increase because of the Jews moving in. Also, London swelled from 40,000 to 200,000 from 1880 to 1914. In York City the Jewish population expanded up to 1,503,000!