The Jewish Immigrant in England 1870-1914

by Lloyd P. Gartner

This is an analysis and description of that section of the great Jewish migration from eastern Europe which settled in Britain - around 120,000 Jews. The routes to England and the immigrants' travel experiences are discussed and the dockside reception is presented, which leads to a consideration of the policies of the native Jewish community.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2001

Reviews

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Factual and informative, this book provided me with a glimpse of what life was like for my immigrant ancestors from Eastern Europe that settled in Manchester before 1885 when my great grandfather was born.

Migrating people always bring themselves and their cultures with them tucked into their baggage. They also contribute to even the most established cultures and ultimately become part of the community, whether intentional or not.

My great grandfather shipped out of Liverpool in 1904 and made a new and colorful life in New York, starting as a delivery driver, owning a speakeasy during Prohibition and transitioning to a grocer. He died nine months before I was born so I didn’t know him. However, one of the bits of baggage that he kept and passed on to my grandmother was the particular pronunciation of certain words that as a child I wondered about. My mother retained many of these word sounds and I smile to reflect on the origins across the Atlantic, particular to Manchester, brewed in the milieu of relocated people and what we see in their new lives.

[C. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been helping a friend research his family history. This book has given me some interesting background to the Jewish immigrants who arrived in sizeable numbers from the Russian Empire in these years. Gartner’s book was pioneering; I’m aware that Gartner’s conclusions have been challenged since his book was published. Gartner sees the Jewish immigrant community (mostly in London) as being neatly distinguished from other groups, and is undoubtedly conservative in his view of how a ‘good’ Jewish community should look. A stark example comes in Chapter 6, when Gartner exposes his paternalism: ‘[…] patriarchal authority with a prominent role reserved for the mother—all of these mark Jewish home life at its best’ (pp. 166–67). Yet the book is well-researched and essential for anyone wishing to understand the lives of first and second-generation Jewish immigrants in this period.