I very much agree with Fred Weisinger, about the living conditions for Jews
in the Austrian Empire. Joseph the second,not only emancipated the
Jews, he ordered that Jews be given land and a house in each village,
commensurate with the size of the village. This is why some of our
ancestors were farmers in the villages surrounding Czernowitz, or in
the villages of NE Hungary and Galicia.
In most other European countries, Jews were prohibited from owning land.
Mimi
Quoting fred love <fredhotman_at_yahoo.com>:
> Apropo Austrian Jews or JewishAustrian
>
> I remember my father Mendel Weisinger telling about his time where he
> served as a ranking man in the Austrian Army during the I st world
> war on the Italian front. In the areas of Fucino, Mezzolombardi and
> in the Dolomite Mountaines. I was fascinated listening to his stories
> in the Austrian army. He also had some medals.
> He never mentioned any persecution or bad treatment because he was a Jew.
>
> Even though Austria was a staunch Catholic country with it s share of
> anti semitism. It had also been more enlightened than other countries
> in Europe. Josef II son of Maria Teresa was one of the few emancipist
> of the Jews in the Austrian empire. Under his reign Jews were free to
> conduct their affairs, own land participate in education and many
> other matters. Carinthia, Burgeland in Austria as well as in the
> Bukovina Jews could own or lease and work landholdings up to the
> Roumanian period when when changes and attitudes begun.My
> grandparents owned land in Pohorlauti and some family in Ocna. They
> were also active in the Municipal matters in Zastawna. On my mothers
> side the Brenders of Sadagura were well known for dealing in
> agricultural products. Jews felt free from the usual opressivenes of
> the sourounding countries. These were the underlaying factors that
> allowed Bukoviner Jews to flourish as traders, businessman and
> professionals it also allowed
> the development of a unique cultural diversity that spread out into
> the rest of the world. There was no small feat to be known as the
> Pettit Vienne. Look at the buildings and the set up. Kobylianski
> Theatre loks like a copy of the opera theatre in Zurich. The language
> was predominantely German in the Austrian direction yet Yidish
> flourished alongside in literature, theatre, and ordinary speach in a
> complimentary form. I do also consider that the rest of the
> population participated in this uplifting state. I know of Ukrainean,
> Ruthenians, Poles and others who did also aquire the mutlticultural,
> multilingual and general social intercourse and benefit by the fact
> they lived in the Bukovina. Alas,a catastrophe came up on the horison
> to wipe it all out.
>Fred Weisinger
>
>
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Received on 2010-03-12 17:28:06
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.2.0 : 2010-07-03 14:34:39 PDT