Review - American Jewish Archives

198 American Jewish Archives
tions. Although American Jewry now started to organize interests
professional for the first time in its history, it was divided in two
camps on the issue of slavery, both trying to prove their loyalty to
their states of residence.
In contradition to what has generally been assumed in historiog-
raphy, Barkai proves from new demographic data that German
Jewish immigration after the Civil War was not reduced to "a mere
trickle" but numbered at least 70,000 immigrants until 1914. Those
postwar immigrants differed strongly from the first group. After
the emancipation of the Jews in Germany, many were educated,
came from middle-class families, and had a reasonable income.
Material need was not the motive for their emigration. They usually
followed their families, who had arrived before the war. Further-
more, these immigrants were now strongly attracted by the Ameri-
can success stories following the "rags to riches" myth. Increasing
German anti-Semitism influenced many German Jews in their deci-
sion to leave the old country. The new arrivals proved to be less
mobile in their settlement patterns than the first group of imrni-
grants, as they often stayed with already established family enter-
prises. The family connection made it extremly easy for the second
group of German Jewish immigrants to merge with the first group;
common culture, traditions, and strong family relations fostered
group cohesion and common values.
The highly interesting chapter "Americanization Delayed" focuses
on the German Jews' problem of adapting their dual ethnicity status
of a Jewish and a German identity to the American environment.
Culturally and emotionally, the immigrants were still strongly tied
to the old country and to family members. The common cultural
heritage and language also connected the German Jews to German
Gentiles in the New World. Barkai gives interesting examples of
how intensively German Jewish congregations were still under the
spiritual guidance of German Judaism from the Old Country. Be-
cause of the lack of an American Jewish institution of higher learning
for the education of rabbis. The Hebrew Union College was founded
only in 1875 in Cincinnati. The need for Americanization of German
Jewish life in the United States was felt when most congregations
and newspapers had to switch from the use of German to English