Late 18th- first half of 19th Century: Changes are coming
In the late 18th century, the legal status of Jews in German lands began to improve. Emperor Joseph II issued the Edict of Toleration in 1782, inviting Jews to become members of the Holy Roman Empire and serve in the army, and thus abolishing occupational and residency restrictions and eliminating special taxes levied on Jews. Similarly, Napoleon emancipated the Jews living in the lands he conquered, granting them equal rights and the right to worship as they saw fit.
Under the influence of Napoleon, some German rulers introduced reforms that fell short of full emancipation and were often abrogated in their implementation. In 1812, for example, Prussia passed an edict granting Jews citizenship but refusing them the right to serve in any official capacity, whether as officers in the army, civil servants, postal clerks, or university professors. Still, some Prussian regions revoked these economic and social freedoms for Jews. In other German states, emancipation suffered grave setbacks. The Free City of Frankfurt stripped Jews of their citizenship, and, in Austria, formal civil rights were often undercut locally through legal chicanery.
Despite some opposition, economic reforms nevertheless proceeded, with states lowering taxation rates on Jews and opening some professions to them. In 1842, Prussia lifted residency restrictions for all its subjects, which significantly lowered obstacles to Jewish migration to larger towns and cities. Although greater economic freedom did not automatically translate into higher living standards, it permitted Jews to participate in the larger German trend towards urbanization.
Family Stories
Morgenthau
Lazarus Morgenthau (1815-1897) came from Hürben, a small village in Bavaria. When he was young, he sold ties he made at various fairs. Eventually, he moved his family to Mannheim, where he had better access to markets and money. Mengo, his younger brother who had emigrated to San Francisco in 1850, sent Morgenthau some money, which he used to found a successful cigar manufacturing business. When his business failed in 1866, Morgenthau moved his family to New York where his family became successful and influential. After studying law, his son Henry became an important American diplomat, serving as US ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Morgenthau’s grandson, Henry Morgenthau Jr., was a close friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as his Secretary of Finance. His great-grandson, Robert Morgenthau, was an influential jurist and the long-time District Attorney in Manhattan.
To learn more about Lazarus Morgenthau, see the Shared History Project here.
Edict of Toleration by Joseph II, 1781. Public domain.
An 1806 French print depicts Napoleon Bonaparte emancipating the Jews. Public domain.
Napoleon grants the Jews freedom to worship, represented by the hand extended extended to the Jewish woman.
