Dear Jerome,
Thank you so much for your comments with respect to the Book of the Month, January 2015, at the Czernowitz Book Corner
http://czernowitzbook.blogspot.de/2015/01/a-sanguine-bunch.html
and, YES x 3 to your remarks, i. e.:
1. YES, the "Historical Overview" seems to mee too to be somehow undifferentiated and Yosi discovered another inaccuracy concerning the definition of Transnistria. On the other hand, I read the chapter "Jews and the Local Economy" [p. 204 - 208] and partly the "Summary and Coclusion" [p. 433 - 436]. In my eyes H. F. van Drunen tries to dispel the myth, that the social coexistence under Austrian rule was tension-free and anti-Semitism is a phenomenon of the 1920s/1930s. In this respect I'm following his drift.
2. YES, you are completely right, "usury, usurer, usurers" are not at all neutral terms and are inextricably linked with anti-Semitism. Therefore you are of course not at all "too sensitive around this issue". "Usury" was - and perhaps still is? - a common stereotype and an upcoming Book of the Month - perhaps as early as March 2015 - will be Julius Platter's "Ursury in Bukovina" [Der Wucher in der Bukowina] from the year 1878, beyond any doubt, an anti-Semitic tractate. On the other hand, Platter's book suggested to me by our fellow member Sasha Wolloch, is a very important contemporary document and enlightening with respect to the rise of anti-Semitism in Bukowina; therefore I believe H. F. van Drunen is quoting Julius Platter quite frequently anf therefore I'm going to publish "Ursury in Bukovina" at the Czernowitz Book Corner as well, of course accompanied by the appropriate comments/warnings.
3. YES, this discussion stands for our Czernowitz-L Discussion Group at it's best and I strongly encourage more of our fellow members to "disassemble" H. F. van Drunen's thesis and to verify or to falsify our impressions.
Thank you so much for your comments!
Edgar Hauster
----------------------------------------
> Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2015 07:47:18 -0800
> From: romers_at_shaw.ca
> To: bconcept@hotmail.com; czernowitz-l@cornell.edu
> Subject: Re: [Cz-L] Book of the Month, January 2015: "A Sanguine Bunch"
>
> 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