Bread to eat and clothes to wear : letters from Jewish migrants in the early twentieth century / Gur Alroey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Alroey, Gur.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews, East European--Migrations--History--19th century.

Jews, East European.

Jews, East European--Migrations--History--20th century.

Jews, East European--United States--Correspondence.

Jews, East European--Palestine--Correspondence.

Immigrants--United States--Correspondence.

Immigrants.

Immigrants--Palestine--Correspondence.

Jews, East European--Migrations--History--20th century--Sources.

Europe, Eastern--Emigration and immigration--History--19th century.

Europe, Eastern.

Europe, Eastern--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.

Europe, Eastern--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century--Sources.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (242 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Detroit : Wayne State University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Collects and analyzes letters from Jewish men and women in the early stages of migrating from Eastern Europe. Between 1875 and 1924, more than 2.7 million Jews from Eastern Europe left their home countries in the hopes of escaping economic subjugation and religious persecution and creating better lives overseas. Although many studies have addressed how these millions of men, women, and children were absorbed into their destination countries, very little has been written on the process of deciding to migrate. In Bread to Eat and Clothes to Wear: Letters from Jewish Migrants in the Early Twentieth Century, author Gur Alroey fills this gap by considering letters written by Eastern European Jews embarking on their migration. Alroey begins with a comprehensive introduction that describes the extent and unique characteristics of Jewish migration during this period, discusses the establishment of immigrant information bureaus, and analyzes some of the specific aspects of migration that are reflected in the letters. In the second part of the book, Alroey translates and annotates 66 letters from Eastern European Jews considering migration. From the letters, readers learn firsthand of the migrants' fear of making a decision; their desire for advice and information before they took the fateful step; the gnawing anxiety of women whose husbands had already sailed for America and who were waiting impatiently for a ticket to join them; women whose husbands had disappeared in America and had broken off contact with their families; pogroms (documented in real time); and the obstacles and hardships on the way to the port of exit, as described by people who had already set out. Through the letters in Bread to Eat and Clothes to Wear readers will follow the dilemmas and predicaments of the ordinary Jewish migrant, the difficulties of migration, and the changes that it brought about within the Jewish family. Scholars of Jewish studies and those interested in American and European history will appreciate this landmark volume.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Extent of Jewish Migration, 1875-1914

Characteristics of Jewish Migration

Immigration Information Bureaus

The Letters

Conclusion

Notes

Author's Comments

Letters 1-66

Appendix A: The Extent of Jewish Migration

Appendix B: Towns

Selected Bibliography

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-219) and index.

ISBN:

9780814335833

0814335837

OCLC:

755619434