The Denver Jewish news., 1918-11-28

e1eEFf "a whole cQfHnDtU w ~
10 no Ao~ it' r2hal them anA any
ASsa !fos a6diskpsAf ,ssaspAa saORt
el Alesaing the Jews. When emperor
Rudolf II (l57e-1Gla), Who resided
mestls in Prague received, from the
sultan of Mproceo Rair of lions as
4 present the Jews Of Prague had to
furnish the e'>meat needed for feeding
them When in the sixteenth centuty
the imperial princesses took fancy
10 embroidery and the treasurer said
he had not money to bu, gold thread,
the Jews had to furnish IT. Jews. as
is usually the case with oppressed
people, helped to despoii their own
brethren. One David Lehman In
Prague suggested in lT4f to Maria
Theresa that she put . heavy fax on
Esrogim, for which scheme he demand
cd royalty. The scheme vas found
not to be practicable, but the Jews
had to pay q higher "schutzgeld." be-
cause the government had declined this
source of revenue.
The revolution Of lS4s finally did
away with all disabilities and with the
special JeS-ta4es, but this did not
change the temper of the population
which, in measure, became more
hostile owing to self-gorernmcnt. When
Jews moved their stores from the
Ghetto to the center Of tho city in
Prague. riots occurred. and when they
moved into tawns which were formerly
closed to them. they were thFeatened
with violence. The struggle between
the German minority which oppressed
the Czech majority intensified the hos;
,iiity. Tie Jews generally sided with
the Germans. Qerman was their Ian
guage. and mercantile life could nat
urslly not spare the knowledgc Of y
language which was medium Of in
ternationsl communication. while tho
Slavic dialect had = very eircumser'b
cd area, This policy brought upon
them the hostility Of the Czechs. whose
leaders. the historian Frsacis Pslaeky
and Ilidisiaus Rieger. called them Shy
locks and charged them with gesRon-
sibility for the disintegrstins forces
In the Slavic provinces. This aid CIV
en- to tho German element did net pro
vent the Gsrmsn element from eontri-
huting its share to the persecution ef
the Jews. The German city Of ksa,
den In Rohemia informed the first
Jewish settler who toak up his resi-
denee In tho Mace that II would no,
tolerate any ine)hsSh,cht Oh its priy-a
'ilesc tof keeping JeHs 6ut, ssnd al
muets In Moravia which had = Iewisf
congregation ss early AZ the 18th cen,
tury. but had expelled the Jews in
1864. Introduced bill in the diet dc
clarins Jews ineligible to franchise.
The agitation grew fiercor, when the
pan-Grrman party about 1881 made
anti.Semitism part of its program.
This movement brought the Jews oi
the Slavic sections in Bohemia into
the Czech camp. The first diet. con;
vcned In 1861. had in Bohcmia three
and in Noravia two jews, all belong
ing to the German party, but even
tefore 1SaS some far-sighted public.
lists like David huh. the editor of II
Gcrmau daily iu Prague. and Sicsfrico
kappea. author of some mcritorious
ghetto novels, advised the Jews i'll
Czech districts to join the national
organization of their neishbors. For
mcrly all congregations in slavic dis
tricts maintained schouls OF their own.
where the German Language was not
only taught but was the main medium
of instruction in all branches. In 1SDM
the number of these schools WAS re-
ducrd to 60, in 1900 1t fell to 81, and
In 1914 tho last Jewish school of Do
hcmia was closed owing to political
exisencies.' In 1854 society. called
rOr Tomid,' was created to encourage
the ase Of the Czech language IN the
synagoy, Jewish paper in tue Czech
language was started in 1871. but al
this did not prevent the constant re-
petition Of the charge that the Jews
are aiding the oppressors of the Slavic
people. When in the bohemian diet
IL 1905 the Germans complained tina
tho students of the German university
of lrague--Prague has two unirersi-
ties, one for the Germans und one for
the Czcchs--Hrc constantly molested
on the streets. the Czech delegate
Brzcznowsky, replied: There are no
t;erman students. they are all Jews
But there were certainly enough Ger
mans in the University of Prague to
form X German anti:Semitie party.
When In 1902 the jew. Stein. was np-
pointed by the Board of Aldermen of
Prague to a high office In the muni
finaf administration. thr 81 me BrHez