"Since money lending and spirits trade were mainly in Jewish hands,
Who handled money and booze before the Jews arrived ?
There was a Bukovina without Jews ?
Hardy
-----הודעה מקורית-----
מאת: Edgar Hauster [mailto:bconcept_at_hotmail.com]
נשלח: Monday, January 05, 2015 11:13 AM
אל: Jerome Schatten; czernowitz-l_at_list.cornell.edu
עותק: Fred Weisinger; Anny Matar; shemit65_at_gmail.com; Hardy Breier; Yosef
Eshet
נושא: RE: [Cz-L] Book of the Month, January 2015: "A Sanguine Bunch"
Jerome...
I think your interpretation of "A Sangunie Bunch" is excellent has been
additionally proved by Shelly. The title "A Sanguine Bunch" - note the
quotation marks! - goes into the same direction like "blood brotherhood" and
makes an allusion to a so-called peaceful coexistence of the ethnic groups
in Bukovina, which as a matter of fact wasn't tension-free at all.
So let's follow Shellie's advice, that "we have to read a lot more to get
what the author is trying to tell us" and therefore I'm suggesting another
excerpt from the author's conclusion [p. 433 et seqq.]:
"Although Jews had been in Bukovina long before the Austrians arrived, their
number rose significantly after the occupation because the living conditions
the young crownland offered were significantly better than those in the
surrounding areas. In general, the new rulers pursued an active immigration
policy, but their position with regard to Jewish immigrants was
inconsistent. Nevertheless, as government regulations further enhancedthe
position of its Jewish citizens, the number of Jews coming to IBukovina
continued to rise. Their presence in agriculture was negligible and they
were mainly active in trade (including alcohol) and money lending. Jewish
Bukovinians eagerly embraced the newly created possibilities to send their
children to school and as such greatly improved chances for
Jews on the labour market. However, the focus on secondary and university
education held in the different nationalist but to an even greater extent in
Jewish circles also caused tensions: Bukovina lacked trained craftsmen and
farmers and saw itself confronted with a large surplus of academics. There
was a successful Jewish business elite in Bukovina, but also a substantial
proletariat. When the local economic situation deteriorated in the late
1800s, many of the emigrants from Bukovina were Jews.
Poor living conditions in Bukovina had always been closely related to
irresponsible money borrowing and excessive alcohol consumption. Since money
lending and spirits trade were mainly in Jewish hands, Jews were generally
blamed for the ensuing misery. The nationalist discourse of the time was
best served by the image of classless national solidarity and not by
tensions between an exploitative upper class and an irresponsible peasantry.
As such, the Jews were the perfect scapegoats. Aware of their vulnerable
position, they regarded the Viennese authorities as the essential guarantee
for their well-being in Bukovina and had the reputation of being very loyal
to Empire and Emperor."
In my understanding there is nothing wrong with this, quite the contrary,
it's an accurate interpretation. Warmest wishes as always and thank you all,
that by your interventions you're participating in this interesting thread!
Edgar Hauster
-snip-
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Received on 2015-01-05 07:24:16