The Denver Jewish news., 1918-11-28
New Slave States
/, HlsTQAlf kElIGw OF sEW1aa
LEE ~ TlGaE coUNTRHA
BY, agTrHAkH hErfacH.

iaps' Int u viii not ps e&asgerafeA "
say that few Americans have clear
notion what all this means Fewer
people still, even among the Jews, have
distinct idea how the Jews will be
affected by the now forming new
Slavic states in Central Europe.
The Kingdom of bohemia consists
of three Austrian provinces, called Bo
hcmia, Moravia and Silesia. Most VI
the latter province has since 1i42 been
Incorporated into Prussia, and is, with
the exception af some Poles. exclp-
sively German. Ehe three Austrian
provinces We're from 1926, with sha-t
Interruption during revalt in 1912
ld20, part of the monarchy as con
stituted until the recent ahdicatiOn OF
Emperor Charles. These provinces
have a population Of about 10, ,pOO,On,
Of whom I14a06a are Jews, roughly
speaking one and y half precant, The
pruviuces are also divided int Ger
luans and Slavs. Like everywhere else
they are mostly concentrated in thu
large cities. the old historic kehillas
in the country towns steadily losing
SINCE lSiS, when freedom of residence
was given to the Jews. hut even in
cities like Prague and Bruenn the
proportion Of the Jewish population
is far below ten per cent There u
besides strong current Of emigration
from these provinces noticeable, mostly
to Vienna, but probably also to coun,
tries overseas. Bohemia had aceard-
ing to the census Of 1000 Jewish
population of Gi,COO which in 1910 had
decreased to, $4,000. In AOrayia the
census of 1910 showed decrease
within ten years from H,O00 to ii,oO0,
Only silesia had a slight iacreasc
which, as the total Jewish pOnulat tion
is only 1900, is Of no consequence
II is likely that the invasion of Gaiicia
ly the Russian army in l914 brought
considerable increase of Jews 4
these sections of ex-Austria, hut on
this movement no figures arc aveil'
able. .........
hc iGNish SGttiSlhTuN Va tiit NNe
,ioln OF bohemia. is very old. Prasp,
claims that Its venerable synagus, tn
',Altneuschul" was in existence befors
the destruction Of the temple OF Jc
rusalem. They explain the nam frq,r
the rahbiRicd a! fenai,I sayipg that !
was built partly from stones brought
trem Jerusalem under the condition
that htese shall la removed agat
when tho Messiah shall RECALL all .Irw'
to Palestine. II is fact. however,
that a Jewish settlement existed in
Prague us early as the eleventh. and
in Brlenu. Breslau and other center
of the Kingdom of Rohemia, then open
ing its gates to ciyiiizat,O,, in th'
twelfth century. In the thirteenth
| century We have widc-famed rabbinical
scholars in Bohcmia who received thcii
training in the French schools. then
leading in Talmudic studies, aud wh'
locked down with mIxturr pf Dit!
aud eontempt OH the Jews of Poland
with their emergency rabbis, SERVING
small congregations as rabbis. teach
crs. schOchcts, hazaps. etc. The Srowtl
of the Jewish population brought I'll,
need for legislation. King Przelnys.
pttakar .copied,i as many other rulers
Of that time did, the law of duke Fred
erick II. of Austria, Issued in 12ii
II provided for communal autonomy
recognized the rahbinical law IN tbs
business relation of the Jews ana
granted them protection for synasogS,
cemeteries, aud the practice of theii
religion, INCLUDING measures asains'
forced baptism Of their children.
The events Of the fifteenth century
affected the situation of the Jews un
fuyor9hly in various respects. The!
suffcred.- like everywhere. from the
growing Importance and power OF tho
cities over that Of the mobiles. and tht
unrest, caused by the uprising of thu
Hussitcs, stimulated religious fanatic
ism, resulting in the expulsion of th'
Jews from all important cities and in
occasional bloody prosecutions: often
intensified by some ritual murder ar
host 'lcseeration charge, staged fol
that purpose. Occasionally cdicts o'
expulsion were issued upon the in,
sistencc of the states" as the repre-
scntativcs of the landed proprictors;
the cities and the church were called
but these cdicts were either repealed Or
not carried ont In 17i4, when the
Austrian empire suffered the second
and crushing defeat in the war will
Prussia. such an cdict WIS issued by
the bisoted Empress Maria Theresa,
and only owing to the intervention Of
various foreign powers. among whom
England was especially prominent tho