Jewish People’s Succession and Regression during the Great Depression

Never before in the history of the world has there been experienced such devastating and dire social and economic conditions as was witnessed during the Great Depression. This era, which began in 1929 and did not end until the late 1930s, was characterized by an acute decline in economic activities all around the world, an occurrence that led to great human suffering and extended economic devastation. The Great Depression had many far-reaching economic effects in the US, and was clearly the country’s worst economic crisis.

However, this period was also marked as a unique period in the history of Jewish people in the United States. Owing to the fact that American public sentiment against unrestricted immigration had been growing prior to and during this period, most of the Jews who ended up in the country became targets for discrimination and molestation. As a nation, the US no longer thought of herself as having the economic and social capacity to let in and settle new immigrants, especially when she was struggling to cater for her own people.This led to the enactment and consequent implementation of the Immigration Quota Law which limited the number of immigrants allowed into the country to a mere 150,000. This paper discusses the succession and Regression during the period that marked the Great Depression. It explores the literary sources of information available on the issue, and draws conclusions based on their arguments.

Discussion History of Jewish Persecution and Discrimination The fact that Jews have had a long and repeated history of persecution since their dispersal in 70 A. D. from Jerusalem by the Romans can never be denied.Ever since, they have been striving to get a place where they could comfortably settle and probably call home; and in order to escape from the constant threats of danger that have been facing them. From the 1st century A. D.

to the 20th century, the Jews were always subjected to unimaginable atrocities particularly in Europe where the deadly mixture of racial and religious bigotry caused millions of them to lose their lives. America is the one nation in the world that has historically stood firm and not only opposed the atrocious killing of the Jews but also offered them a place to settle and call home.This generosity and kindness had begun long ago, but the grave economic situation experienced during the Great Depression caused a change of policy. This move was specifically motivated by the grave economic pressures, the high unemployment rate, and the social frustration and disillusionment. Anti-Semitic Views There was, however, another factor that made the U. S.

to refuse to grant entry into the country to new Jewish immigrants. This was anti-Semitism which had begun much earlier in time but increased in the late 1930s and continued to rise in the 1940s as the economic hardships intensified.This hatred for Jews stemmed from their historical religious, racial, and traditional backgrounds which for some reason made them to be the most hated race on earth. It is also true that that the Jewish people have made a major contribution to human modern history, particularly in the realm of science, technology, economics, and philosophy, which includes the evolution of the American society. Jews, as people with a common early history dating as far back as 5000 years ago, reveal that they have many cultures; and speak many languages including Arabic, Ladino and Yiddish.A Jew is not distinguishable by speaking any particular language.

A major aspect that shapes the Jewish culture is their religion of Judaism that can be practiced in a variety of ways. The Jews’ learned social identity is enriched with their traditions and cultures. A Review of the Literature Just like in Europe, the Jews in the United States during the Great Depression also faced discrimination and other forms of hostilities from Americans. This harsh treatment reshaped the Jewish culture and community.Anti-Semitism in the United States has always been less prevalent than in Europe, and this explains why the Jews, though faced with discrimination, still managed to cope there than they had in Europe. This was like a blessing in disguise for these people, considering what has come to be their outlook in the modern world today.

This ability to cope fairly well in the United states has been attributed to the fact that the country has been able to successfully offer refuge to many different cultural and racial groups from all over the world.The culture here is therefore not as homogenous as in Europe but is fairly open and heterogeneous. This open culture allowed many minority groups to flourish, including Jewish Americans. As the economic situation in Europe grew worse, more Jews found their way into the US, and on arrival, their family relationships changed dramatically. Traditionally, Jewish families had comprised of a father who was head over all and who was feared and revered by his wife and children.

There was an inevitable need for change in roles in the family as the migrants came because they had to learn a new language and culture.Usually, the leader of a Jewish family is required to be the one who offers leadership in all areas. Since in this instance the young children found it rather easier to learn English and other cultural ways of the new environment, they were to kind of act as the family heads, teaching their parents the skills they had learnt. In addition, since the father had no ability to work or get any form of gainful employment owing to the hard economic times, and considering the fact that a father had to be the breadwinner of the family, his leadership role became somewhat ceremonial.There occurred a very great transformation in ways of life in the families. The more learnt children, this is as far as their grasping of the new language was concerned, automatically – though not officially – assumed the role of family spokesperson and were more involved in matters pertinent to family and community affairs such as translation at home and at school.

The Struggle for Survival The need to make it in the new environment became part of the main occupation of the Jews in their initial years in the country.It became apparent to them that would have to let go of some of their traditional and strict cultural practices and instead embrace newer ones if they were to hope to survive the hardships they experienced. However, most of them were still not ready to let go of any of their religious aspects, as they reasoned that alone would not bring about any change of attitude from those people who were oppressing them. Neither would their cultural shift cause any improvement in the prevailing economic situations that threatened them with death by starvation.This presented them with very hard choices to make regarding the matter of culture.

It had to be a decision made with after careful consideration. However, this did not happen, and instead it was the economically difficult times that almost naturally drove them to take the next steps in life. The Great Depression was instrumental in the restructuring of Judaism where the Jews became more and more engrossed in their religion where weekly synagogue service became their main religious family activity.The synagogue serves as the center of religious rites and activities such as birth offerings and bar-mitzvah ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, death service, and for their civic and community functions in times of crisis, illness and holidays.

Many of the Jewish traditions have been fully integrated in American soil, but the new generations of Jews view themselves as American in all aspects of their lives. The ties of kinship loosened and extended family ties were replaced by nuclear type of family; but often diminished particularly during the times of extreme economic hardship when survival is the priority.The Jewish trends of the Great Depression emerged in the midst of turbulent years that ultimately made them accelerate socially, economically, and politically. Today, Jewish households in the United States are composed of three generations including the grandparents, parents and their children. It is not uncommon for the Jewish community in the United States to see the grandparents performing an active role in managing the family.

In the 1930's, the young generations of Jews remained in educational institutions to study where they acquired degrees that would imminently accelerate their economic advancement or competitive advantage in the years after World War II. The young generations of Jews during the said decade also started to delay marrying, and have employed family planning wherein such trend continued to characterize Jewish families up to the present. The Role of Politics in the Succession and the Regression The Great Depression and the New Deal have been seen by many historians as both a blessings and a curse for the Jews.The said historical elements can be regarded as a blessing for the Jews because it opened socio-economic and political opportunities to them where they were able to gain significant positions in the U.

S. government and have engaged in the socio-economic activities of the country due to their gained professions. The young generations of Jews tended to enroll in colleges in greater numbers than other minorities or descendants of other immigrants, and with jobs’ scarcity in the 1930s, they were likely to stay in school, acquiring skills and education that would leave them far better equipped than their peers upon graduation.This was particularly in New York, where city-run colleges didn’t charge tuition fees.

On some campuses, Jews composed of over 80% of the student body. By the 1930s, it was estimated that nearly 65% percent of Jews had been able to move to white-collar jobs which provided them some form of stability against the havoc of the Great Depression, having relied earlier on unskilled jobs. The Jewish institutions have significantly helped alleviate the situation.The employment bureaus sponsored by the Jewish Federation lent Jews a helping hand, which was particularly important in view of discrimination against Jews in various fields of employment. This was unlike other ethnic groups that were not able to establish similar institutions for their people. Many Jews during these times were able to engage in businesses that significantly propelled them to richness and strengthened the socio-economic foothold on the American society, particularly in the area of the economy where they were able to gain competitive advantage compared to other immigrants and locals.

Education Attainment The Great Depression and the New Deal also caused discrimination against the Jews in academics in spite of their obvious competence and qualifications. This is because of the increased contamination of anti-Semitism resonating from Europe during this time. Looking at the 1930s movement of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration, the dilemma of Jewish population during the Great Depression was deepened and prolonged.The said president did what he could before the war as part of the political realities although America faced major unemployment rates.

He ordered the entire quota for reservation to Jews but once WWII started, he did nothing but to protest and threaten to defeat the bastards as quickly as possible. The reassessment of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s legacy was full of unanswered questions such as why he did not do more to help and rescue the Jewish people and why he failed in the face of greatest crime in civilization’s history.