Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America
A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America
A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America
Ebook366 pages5 hours

A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

A groundbreaking history of the practice of Jewish name changing in the 20th century, showcasing just how much is in a name.

Our thinking about Jewish name changing tends to focus on clichés: ambitious movie stars who adopted glamorous new names or insensitive Ellis Island officials who changed immigrants’ names for them. But as Kirsten Fermaglich elegantly reveals, the real story is much more profound. Scratching below the surface, she examines previously unexplored name change petitions to upend the clichés, revealing that in twentieth-century New York City, Jewish name changing was actually a broad-based and voluntary behavior: thousands of ordinary Jewish men, women, and children legally changed their names in order to respond to an upsurge of antisemitism. Rather than trying to escape their heritage or “pass” as non-Jewish, most name-changers remained active members of the Jewish community. While name changing allowed Jewish families to avoid antisemitism and achieve white middle-class status, the practice also created pain within families and became a stigmatized, forgotten aspect of American Jewish culture.

This first history of name changing in the United States offers a previously unexplored window into American Jewish life throughout the twentieth century. A Rosenberg by Any Other Name demonstrates how historical debates about immigration, antisemitism and race, class mobility, gender and family, the boundaries of the Jewish community, and the power of government are reshaped when name changing becomes part of the conversation.

Mining court documents, oral histories, archival records, and contemporary literature, Fermaglich argues convincingly that name changing had a lasting impact on American Jewish culture. Ordinary Jews were forced to consider changing their names as they saw their friends, family, classmates, co-workers, and neighbors do so. Jewish communal leaders and civil rights activists needed to consider name changers as part of the Jewish community, making name changing a pivotal part of early civil rights legislation. And Jewish artists created critical portraits of name changers that lasted for decades in American Jewish culture. This book ends with the disturbing realization that the prosperity Jews found by changing their names is not as accessible for the Chinese, Latino, and Muslim immigrants who wish to exercise that right today.

Winner, 2019 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical Society

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 2, 2016
ISBN9781479872992
A Rosenberg by Any Other Name: A History of Jewish Name Changing in America

Related to A Rosenberg by Any Other Name

Related ebooks

Judaism For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for A Rosenberg by Any Other Name

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

4 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    A Rosenberg by Any Other Name - Kirsten Fermaglich

    ]ebook_preview_excerpt.html}˒FdU"'2X-z DfB R6o'ݵ~ܙK9*KY@?rw[~[ţX|7l_2-|лn߸򃭻o\oEZ4][{x^G ~c;ۛUύMxZﱄMqY7f k\iF???kgt;GxTw%fi*43V".~8/M9gC?jZـfÕꪢ$ν|궓|ף;^nWvl⩹bx捩0VSW\LZ3A1_6޿wAX/ Bv:Ϡv+F?B_p~WϮM QsӍWWf%|JO1{w#JtY9ú/ޙc1r,Ksqz1Gin7{5,9~{8qk/MchоW}M2Ía_y'wg~a`l]=-TWcŦw,흃_ԐhFI sKGQ74s_7/,3LK4 <߷ua}kФпuj]7ߟls?ٻ|[|_xCͳ8WPGWOp8㾇[)ݹ%}W#xcs_owpB Ѩi"Mg`7/&`7PZJ=j~hawS3{݋ɄK}ha;sm Z`UӒ6 =&m|) > F vN^ qԃ3㚮P)>I[Nۿ*J]%7a%(tT)'t>pL$'-ڳ*~Gm}+lݶ7x~RzND1œ' 's޽;rǯq+>(.:/fos?r.?+<_ 3j/4{LNRW<;ן|ӧO8kO|q>`Uy|^/@\1TO$D>jʲ;;ߺ2dܮk `վ;. gʺ:֪2BZc-Jw5M~v[F~;/C^O= V Џ}ݕa᫴5Xe?"F=p|^`nuik^H7$"m'mal^qwrh'2\M,]503[*X9Vq/4d߈q_B|/$O3}qްQw!ܟ<tا@6 p#OO4N)^>צq$,0kDc \X\V񅁶p̯tE*2/h gK2ߨk;)BUb.hNIHF ʵ*uU\tBG@ӜMnkYoDQ7b3av)q y.kۯK'u<@Q f,ݠOm %5{ =MʟFA2:zbId&S萛g>!4K1AloݨMŻx. ϸ?s g(~^m 4:3lVB Uf{WZ;)tfS;7"0JS k["J`hN5 pYo`UtsDGƸ.!A˝9",C$;g>v>D <),8.Wh -TER*rrUao*f 8r?]kă< %Ux p>:loD"Ü`,4Ҏ01XsoFV4ӏ- AOuE. •|4Q5 HR)S] J8HtK iCXf㤛z~ rmP'4v$Iˈۚ#{SHԁ4QQeL16aQ ˁ> -~ʯ뒑(g.BtL75PX80cC8K7ǯe`VSZp,>mM'\Kɉo0<7R`: LC@boYXNW] LՊy H ĄY:bJ*Z7cr;LzXcIWeH;?Q]T4RRB^f],7Bw Q ˺u-sfјQA:RPua 蠞Gw?q1lc|O #„kL%{Nw~_U#Ɠ-BO>[mui2]θV%o+:*7oU;P{ =Nu8zsTI 2['hM.LNhE>e1%#,T[n:1H2V +oN\Ͽ  O?_# W<~vvfRHסcQTp7 5\i~)02 ՞bVӄtwjA@ 1/l^H_ߘ0>vgыJ F#夂lh=׉qMB^趉KZ7 !{ᾣV.ƮqE **"^]FݱîC'V9 >i?#*n Im$`1p>Z=FXh$|X&GL K,䫙¯E%TEP\f/]& &%[ȯ&&V.}xnCw~Wί4BIa@Y(hOܥacմkfsV#1A3IpFqLd)$n$$Ä @a7bXD!  E8/D]Vy\0@^=!|7̘gQ3e BOHx;?@˨wj&v}փ,$`Ttӵ:85vG ձdQ 4Jeɸ6zz0t7V ,AikIP ^*4"09qkK7ݨ^Eқ,k[H)V1s|/0t #l>,/&oƆ*&4MJT}MT.yP@8)[owlYdrtmBNAqz<ɉtnȷz}bΏi!](D;XU SDF(%xD61H3c\J9(Va7pCΖ!XueEts"&I\gfr8mݼv"TKЛc2+Ae_=#F^ٍ$s-ILu.>&# Z_̓v{ˌJv n@|\C'J>`ڔMUK{ ,Q&d#h"c&ƭ$g >PA7-ీGfgx>(7~\;!GYwNO}qä 2b (~TȞm%EO{pI~3`LFIz!g,Qqi0dw *JC Z )BZs3"ݐ-C0vo4=NrҡOܵT3tCX!3+JVgp&h:10eI[TѸIك>nk#I }݄#%'IZ{5,_3J=w5qϰHl;=35[57 QiD6!t 3Nns(.AeH#yޙa~}B4M4!rm²7/MMϟc(K. _.iľTqrO\JDpMO?RH.ӌ7XȮ1^SRn җ@nFx;ݠN^v{䎷s0 u$">y0qJ+ju4Ė-'62 (=MHJ3C!2Zq¿&Fn  |nHz9F W'!1<ѹxWŖ {s}CY-20՛t'Hr'\ކYӱ@*/5KcmsLW22%ZrukL-&Xlߑԩ[K[BE Bk=w.z9ğҌ$rzY'MfN@J٤sc8Rz8z#.kt,Rh9^"=+; ivăxf%/WQ҉#̋͏^l]gՕ t2fKӆݨCXinRr)YYqDP\|FUHU 3P4a7nɺ כ$O9?9&%!/J2P!c^ܶ'۬ ߊf"m1g?hK9V:I( kWW3:4aho)%>fZ4r@ʎ(5!;;tMRf.%"ra3ttrG{[Yao'(V9(v 9"ys!|-`_ZS0D2h˫-G횶N`&5W G`ic?=3[=#l;RȚb,h:A[tY ܤ'!(&95ʊ к-dt6F\&Xadv*6xҜG@O]oq0ֳM"6Ė0Q+AkJSKHX8ޒđK;7t\um3oO5ٰеh*߄֐V[ݬ:sEKm%^kC5*@}->QaY9bဣ$)23~gcEL;vٛ)#zS.½h>:L/3uR#=?`Oi]=`foiD0rr=@7HѭhOӕ+BXٴ?VD _k ٕtKjڮӢ0PjW'"tlD!) 5@ )pjU|Od HtD݂e*FxT\"xLzY܄@CWW KJJYNL_qJOڙĞ%b+\K88, `.$og8i]EjEUt=S]lS(M^ī_I nGc@;6ߠ`ݐڱeaH~ JrŒÊ_,d_'us[`{S?#wcV2b8)C(DK򆓁rwS B=a8F"b|se,+rj(=&NhͰKf((\CqwHM㱻9vC "֣L {=ZK/vF+yG[lF:كnYA)7MľCHY'3oE,LOɁM%Qิ^.^`!N$ZhГ ZR1UyiyٔĦ^ ROLu?z0/$_-i]zЩ E&qHtٝ>"0"m>Hi2  6h(<.*N?FڭK"2Pk: tRkmVfCWOXa. M铯(*F> 6 A yY͈< (:!edL3{ڃϡ$"6A-\[uteF! #P>2-u^aW/i0KzSwyi&6%^ /v/Y7͹';E\e׮R7`oi?d6cɠC&+RZ$4@,zgrE\2cT26v!=>F/_zOUfe~*$WkY(]4e4It(״*ohϦX 2T7{#I"`'-ԃSIYC@&jX4HUT*cO~Am/S4{$(Ŧ)|=.CTvNfݗiTȾr#+nBfH= B/#!kSDP%\ïYf1y,PCkskFU+NԞ5 /BbьH7EJ# DZ51vE<}^| VVȊr׎[e' w6#"IZ֐7WZeDl/_LM@O |ՐV!A;p!pfs@QO7A:\HX㱳X"GKG3sNZR Ŕ@FkaR`wD,KWMW=/ڽ pD$ug;zm ?ȩJ^ aCl4ĕ\܀Xy!kx9 -l$᤟rcBu hc!nvΦm%օ+JS51"ʢZR[!cReO~O됃jDzZdm豬z<Ր4$6kej5K٩Ƥީ+%1 7I|![yf@e]_/HYb29cn|)|{7 ZPرp*)g)htݚo`2+e"w-(7Z[z'\+QNݎjcOzRBDyr;2#eK+w$=$k3zj$[LrNF-tR̔EʡRobV[$"4t!C3(tF嗧OrTC&!MZ=UToH&7Mx v҅fva!ݚ/.d*eɴS/&c,$jruqHB{cޕv18.װE5S`5[c:5ŇZn&Y3SQ3jkTխnJAP%ٍ8JT*5gQcBƹ4gwţ!ؚ*nA?ԃdG(\wL*Rt4c׬Fߚ[Z4o"QT_7evb`c,*'X24,` h= mkt&LѪbE5yj " i:2%Ǣ#M-xu  \Q@.wZm^B-[䄵jG'}G *sLv2;&Y~8eLq?ݸC{e" 5iBtN.es'QF y<'Ʉ…xǤázqQ礲1vGJv[LӦ <^΄&9Kil>f6MVfq]Kc0F}OEC#|p ?kܶxHVJ0OmCCct?,HUCxr{JV9e=aY,2]̧#G߭wY߰o@՜qQx1^?2b{O?MLV@ tCLTCljMW 0zl~Aϗ8:;JI z!"+U4 f]n!r=NRQ> "[Bq.!ډiĪB2?bLN FZMJ/5 EHYYv~̋oit"N"|3 SY;KQtQ *8\/?eD 6m1:Z[b?G^M\I{&؅|ѦA,IW{VwPuBd;-N ”akp"^7q3N<9v2E 䎃%5S<2Ƙha۝mgo+7|ԨWaa#B@fD4(Ia(ga?.1 /^ӣDD*C5xe&2' O 4ph]蝖>hI_3?,fho߀!U* e5z}+d`Pۃ|tU'N6ymbs g<V=k~^w0rY4p9{vn7HڋxX =]dtT,3gj5OfANeEJ}!̦)|me,xz|^,~d!&8.%L&%"dM:.t
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1