Finding Home: In The Footsteps Of The Jewish Fusgeyers

by Jill Culiner

The Fusgeyers were Jews who fled persecution in Romania in the early 1900s to find refuge, ultimately, in the New World. On hundred years later, Culiner retraces their steps on foot in the search for lost remnants of this epic journey. Culiner uncovers a largely forgotten corner of Jewish history, revealing the persistence of European anti-Semitism since long before the Second World War. A keen observer of eastern European culture, Culiner's acerbic wit and stunning lyrical style have created a compelling chronicle of loss and discovery.

315 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Born in New York, raised in Toronto, Jill Culiner has lived in England, Holland, Greece, Turkey, Germany and Hungary, keeping body and soul together by delivering newspapers, belly dancing, translating, tour guiding and a great many other tedious jobs. She presently resides in a small French village, similar to the not very pleasant one presented in her mystery, Slanderous Tongue.
For her non-fiction work, Finding Home in the Footsteps of the Jewish Fusgeyers, she crossed Romania on foot tracing the path of immigrants bound for North America at the end of the 19th century. The book won the Tannenbaum Prize for Canadian Jewish History in 2005 and was short-listed for the ForeWord magazine prize.
As a photographer, her exhibition concerning the First and Second World Wars, La Mémoire Effacée, has toured France, Canada and Hungary under the auspices of UNESCO and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As an artist/creator of social critical objects, her work has been exhibited throughout France and Germany, in Spain, England, Switzerland and Poland. It now fills La Boule d’Or, a former café/hotel transformed into a peculiar mini museum open to the public. Its wild garden (much to the distress of close neighbours) is a reserve for birds, butterflies, insects and reptiles.
She has spoken to genealogical and historical groups throughout the United States and Canada, has worked as a broadcaster for Radio France. An amateur musician (flute, piccolo, oboe, oboe d’amore, English horn) she plays in several orchestras and chamber groups.

Reviews

[Heidi Slowinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An 1866 change to the constitution of Romania eliminated the right to citizenship for all non-Christians, leaving Romanian Jews with limited rights. On-going anti-semitism across Europe eventually made it necessary for Jews to immigrate away from Europe. By the early 1900s, a group of Romanian Jews, known by the Yiddish name of Fusgeyers, which means “wayfairer” organized themselves into groups in order to immigrate first to western Europe and, eventually the United States and Canada. Fusgeyers were generally very poor but, by organizing, they were able to pool resources in order to afford immigrating.

Jill Culiner’s book retraces the Fusgeyers’ journey, exploring European culture, and the life lived by this lesser-known group of Jews.

Culiner’s work is intriguing as she explores the past and present of Jewish life in Europe. The author’s prose brings this story to life as she retraces the steps of a group of people who include her own ancestors. This is a group who were faced with incredible odds in seeking a more prosperous life in a more tolerant place. The writing is incredibly poignant and does the important work of shedding light on potentially forgotten history within the Jewish community of Eastern Europe.

This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in genealogy and history. I’d like to thank the author for the free copy of the book I received in exchange for my honest review.

[Emoke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting new topic I was completely unaware of, although myself from Romania, where one strand of this story starts. The book was a random 2 EUR find in a shop and an interesting read. I found the determined walk & search in the footpath of the fusgeyers by the author interesting, however, I was sometimes taken aback by the judgmental characterisation of certain situations or characters encountered.

[Three O'Clock Press]

Since the Jewish Diaspora, the stereotype of the Wandering Jew has haunted the Jewish understanding of identity. In Finding Home: In the Footsteps of the Jewish Fusgeyers, author Jill Culiner has uncovered a largely forgotten corner of Jewish history. The Fusgeyers (the Yiddish word for "foot-goers" - wayfarers) were Jews who fled persecution in Romania in the early 1900s in order to find refuge, ultimately, in the New World. One hundred years later, Culiner retraces their steps in search of remnants of this lost epic journey. Culiner is a keen observer of eastern European culture, and her acerbic wit and stunning lyrical style have created a compelling chronicle of loss and discovery. The focus on Holocaust studies can sometimes tend to obscure the fact that the roots of anti-Semitism go back long before the Second World War. Culiner's astute perceptions reveal the origins and persistence of European anti-Semitism. Her encounters with the past and the present of the Jewish presence in Europe are both chilling and illuminating.