Jerome
Your interpretation is on the money (no pun intended). It is always a
negative term except when one is just quoting the law on usury (U.S.).
It is a common claim that this is one of the causes of anti-Semitism
and the reason old England had no sympathy for Shylock. Jews were
allowed into other countries just because the people couldn't lend
money but then resented the lender.
There's a book but I can't remember the name. It essentially blames
the relations between the Polish non-Jews and the Polish Jews on
economics. It's not an uncommon theory. I'm not saying it justifies
the behavior but watching some of the testimony in Yahad-In Unum, the
Poles were jealous of Jewish wealth and accomplishment. That's enough
for the ignorant to become anti-Semitic.
Shelley
On Sat, Jan 3, 2015 at 10:47 AM, jerome schatten <romers_at_shaw.ca> wrote:
> Hi Edgar.... Thanks for this! I think if one reads nothing else of this
> thesis, the 'Historical Overview', is very readable and valuable. Some of
> the language however, I find disturbing -- for example:
>
> " ...Jewish property steadily increased once the 1867
> Constitution had eliminated the last possession restrictions for Jews. Many
> peasants lost their
> only recently acquired land to (often Jewish) usurers when they were unable
> to repay their
> loans in the difficult years 1866-68. Until the savings bank (Sparkasse) was
> founded, only
> private money lending was possible and mainly provided by usurers which in
> turn provoked
> outbursts of anti-Semitism. The Orthodox Church Fund continued to be the
> biggest landowner
> throughout the years and while it had the opportunity to improve the
> situation by leasing land
> to small farmers, it chose to lease land and forests to (again, mostly
> Jewish) entrepreneurs
> who were financially able to engage in long-term contracts."
>
> 'Usurer(s)', is not a value neutral term, and coupled with the parenthetical
> remark(s) 'usually, mostly, again mostly Jewish', seems like setting up the
> Jews to be responsible for their own eventual demise. Although the author
> never makes this case, the way this part of his history was constructed,
> left me with a feeling that I've heard all this before, and it doesn't end
> up well.
>
> It may be the case that I'm too sensitive around this issue, or that I'm
> misreading the intent of the author, still, something doesn't sit right. I
> would have thought that in the dissertation process, this construction might
> have raised a flag amongst the author's thesis advisors.
>
> Best,
> jerome
>
> On 2015-01-01 7:54 AM, Edgar Hauster wrote:
>>
>> Czernowitzers, dear friends...
>>
>> Happy New Year to all of you! Let's inaugurate the new year by the release
>> of the Book of the Month, January 2015, at our Czernowitz Book Corner:
>>
>> http://czernowitzbook.blogspot.de/2015/01/a-sanguine-bunch.html
>>
>> "'A Sanguine Bunch' - Regional Identification in Habsburg Bukovina,
>> 1774-1919" is the doctoral thesis - in English language [!] - defended by
>> Hieronymus Franciscus van Drunen at the University of Amsterdam in September
>> 2013; Prof. Dr. J. Th. Leerssen and Prof. Dr. D. J. Deletant were the
>> prominent thesis advisors.
>>
>> On Jewish Bukovina, please continue reading Part II - Bukovinians 3, chap.
>> 3.5 - 3.7, p. 201 - 245, and learn more on:
>>
>> - The Jewish Presence in Bukovina [3.5, p. 201]
>> - Jews and the Local Economy [3.5, p. 204]
>> - The Social Position of Bukovinian Jews [3.5, p. 208]
>> - Jewish Nationalism in Bukovina [3.6, p. 216]
>> - Anti-Semitism and Bukovina: Attacks and Vindications [3.7, p. 224]
>> - Bukovinian National Movements and Anti-Semitism [3.7, p. 227]
>> - Popular Anti-Semitism [3.7, p. 239]
>>
>> There are not too many books in English that tell the story of our
>> favorite region, so I'm encouraging you to download your FREE COPY of the
>> dissertation and to read it and share it with your relatives!
>>
>> Stay "tuned" for the next edition of Book of the Month, to be released at:
>> http://czernowitzbook.blogspot.de/
>>
>> Edgar Hauster
>>
>>
>
>
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Received on 2015-01-03 09:10:52