History of the Jews in Milwaukee
The history of
19th Century
Due to an influx of immigrants from Central Europe fleeing discrimination, poverty and
Jews dominated the city's clothing and footwear manufacturing. Of the fourteen merchant tailors and clothiers in Milwaukee in 1862, five were Jewish-owned and operated.
20th Century
Due to its religious tolerance, industry and German roots, Milwaukee was considered a good place for Jews. By the early 20th century, many of the community's early Jewish founders had assimilated into the city's educated German elite. In 1912, the last German-language temple in Milwaukee voted to switch to English as a reflection of the community's adoption of English as the majority language.[9]
By 1925, the Jewish population in Milwaukee had grown to 22,000, which was eleventh largest concentration of Jews in the United States at the time.
Milwaukee was home to multiple Jewish newspapers, including two Yiddish newspapers: the Wochenblat (1914-1932) and the Yidishe Shtimme (1930-1931).[7][5] In 1921, the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle was founded as a newspaper that was published weekly and continues into the present day to be published online.[10]
Jews in Milwaukee became heavily involved in entrepreneurship in various industries, such as grocery stores, clothes-making, recycling, meatpacking and manufacturing.[1] Kohl's, ManpowerGroup, Master Lock, Sigma-Aldrich and the MGIC Investment Corporation were all founded in Milwaukee during this time. The Jewish Vocational Service, the first rehabilitation agency in the United States to help veterans retrain and find jobs, opened in 1938.[2]
By 1951, although Jews made up only 3% of Milwaukee's population, 20% of the doctors and 17% of the attorneys in the city were Jewish.[2] The Jewish population was estimated at 23,000 in 1968.[7]
The Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival, held annually in October to showcase local and international Jewish films, began in 1997.[11]
21st Century
In April 2008, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee opened to the public. It grew out of the Milwaukee Jewish Archives and features oral histories, films, and artifacts related to the Jewish community in Milwaukee.[12]
A 2015 study by the Center for Urban Initiatives and Research at the
Relevant buildings
- Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid: Conservative synagogue founded in 1884
- Lake Park Synagogue: Modern Orthodoxsynagogue
- Congregation Beth Jehudah: Orthodox temple
- Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center
- Jewish Museum Milwaukee
- Milwaukee Jewish Federation
- Rabbi Ronald and Judy Shapiro Museum of Judaica [18]
- Wisconsin Institute for Torah Study
Notable Jews from Milwaukee
- Dick Chudnow, comedian and co-founder of ComedySportz
- Herb Kohl, former Wisconsin senator and founder of Kohl's
- Golda Meir, fourth prime minister of Israel
- Newton N. Minow, attorney and former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission
- Allan Selig, baseball executive and former owner and team president of the Milwaukee Brewers
- Harry Soref, founder of the Master Lock company
- Hasidicrabbi
- Elmer Winter, lawyer and co-founder of ManpowerGroup
- Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker, comedy filmmaking trio best known for Airplane!
See also
References
- ^ a b Avner, Jane. "Jews". Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Cohen, Sheila Terman (25 September 2019). "What Happened To Wisconsin's Once-Thriving Smaller Jewish Communities?". WisContext. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ISBN 978-3-319-70662-7. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ JSTOR 43059005. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780738539720.
- ^ ISBN 9780870207457. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Zaret, Melvin S. (2007). "Milwaukee". Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.). Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 261–263. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Jews in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Historical Society. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Byers, Steve (9 October 2019). "The cultural impact of "Americanization" on Milwaukee's original Jewish immigrant population". The Milwaukee Independent. Milwaukee Independent. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "About Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle". www.jewishchronicle.org. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "25th Annual Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival". JCC Milwaukee. Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ "About Jewish Museum Milwaukee". jewishmuseummilwaukee.org. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Cohen, Leon (29 April 2015). "Revised community study finds fewer Milwaukee Jews". www.jewishchronicle.org. The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ Miller, Ron; Kotler-Berkowitz, Laurence; Percy, Stephen. "2011 Jewish Study Greater Milwaukee (Revised March 2015)". www.jewishdatabank.org. Berman Jewish Databank. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "About". HILLEL MILWAUKEE. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Chabad at UW-Milwaukee". Chabad-Lubavitch of Wisconsin. Chabad.org. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "The Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies - UW-Milwaukee". The Sam and Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ "Jewish American Heritage Month". VISIT Milwaukee. Retrieved 1 August 2022.