JEWS IN THE ARMIES OF EUROPE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10066, 6 February 1909, Page 3 (Supplement)

JEWS IN THE ARMIES OF EUROPE.

(By "Madison"o."Peters;"iXD.)

Goldwin Smith some years ago wrote : "The Jews have now been everywh.-iv; made voters; to make them patriots while they remain genuine Jews is beyond the legislator's power." Until: -very recently,' during the nineteenth century the. Jews were rarely ever permitted' the opportunity. of fighting for their country, but, whenever they have been allowed 1 to enter the lists they have proved that the contumely heaped upon them-.:has not quenched their manhood. What spiritual courage it required for the whole race to survive at all during 15 centuries of the most relentless and diabolical persecutions and. burnings at the stake which might have been avoided by the simple act of baptism! I wish that every American could read the stories .of the old European Ghettos. Excluded from civic privileges and from -olitical office; not admitted into any military organisation ; • denied the power to own any real estate; shut out from all trades and industrial branches, so that Moses Mendelssohn, a hundred years ago, oithily respondeu .to the- reproach, "Our hands are bound and we are blamed for not using theni'; forced to pay liberally for the privilege of residence in the city, and, as their proximity to a' church was looked upon us a contamination, compelled to huddle together in a street set aside for them; shut up like marked creatures in a pen ; shut off from conversation with others, as though their touch was unholy and their presence a curse; locked in every night, so that all intercourse between them and the Christians was impossible—in these prison-like tenements for well-nigh 400 years their bodies and not only 'to live in the locality which they might prefer, but denied the sidewalks in the daytime, they had to take to the middle of the street; they had to remove their -»ats to every passer-by, who would call out, "Jew, make your bow" ; they were denied even fresh air, a right ■not denied to the beasts —for in Frankfort the Jews were not permitted even to walk in the squares surrounded with trees and flowers ; they might walk in the oath leading to them. One general rule was, "No Jew allowed on a- green spot." The public squares of the city they dared not walk upon. If a Jew presumed to walk upon any of these forbidden places, passers-by would snatch their hats from their heads. The only day the Jews were tolerated even on the side of the space on which the city hall stood was on New Year's Day, when they came to the city hall with their gift of fine spices, which they were expected to give to every councilman, to express their allegiance to the city fathers and convey their gratitude for the privilege of living in the worst spot in the city. This was the only occasion when the Jew dared enter the city hall from the front; 'if at any other time he had business ha had to come in through the back door; and, when the Town Council showed l themselves powerless to guard the Jews, their protection reverted to the Emperor and they became his- private property.

What was true of Frankfort was true •" f Prague. During tho Crusades mobs fell upon the Jewish communities, dragged them to baptism, carnage and plunder fell upon those who resisted. The story is the same all over Europe. Read the awful scenes enacted, and you. will be thrilled with admiration for the constancy, heroism, and bravery which the hundreds of thousands of Jews have endured in the dark years and centuries in which they have withstood horrors, which make our blood chill to think of it.

In Rome, where the Jews lived only on sufferance, one of the greatest indignities to which they were subjected was their compulsory participation in the races on the Corso at the carnival, and, amid the sibes and jeers of the attendants, Jews were forced to race with asses, buffaloes, and Barbary horses. In the middle ages the Jews had no refuge but the grave. You can hardly expect a race to love a country in which they were oppressed, robbed, and murdered. And yet in those benighted ages the Jews were not w-anting in patriotism in those countries where the Governments occasionally treated them as human beings. In the Spanish battles they fought as bravest knights. Forty thousand were arrayed against Alphonso VI., while •<i had as many Jews fighting on his side. They also fought valiantly for Alphonso VIII. Alphonso X of Castile rewarded them en masse for their assistance against Seville, and gave them, when the enemy's land was divided, a village which was called Aldea De Los Judeos. 'lhey fought heroically for Don Pedro even after the Black Prince had forsaken luni, defending Burgos to the last man, savins that "God would never have it that they should deny obedience to their natural lord, Don Pedro, or to his rightful successor —"a constancy that the prudent King Don Enrico, very much esteemed, saying : "Suuli vassals as those were, by kings and great men, worthy of much account, seeing they held greater respect to the fidelity they owed' to their king, although conquered and dead, than to the present fortune of the conqueror." And awhile after, receiving very honorable conditions, they gave themselves over, and Don Enrico recognised publicly their patriotism. King Philip the Handsome, of France, is said to have had 30,000 Jews in his army, in his expedition (1297) against Count Guy of Flanders, who had renounced his allesiance to him. Notwithstanding the light of the reformation, pillages and expulsions of the Jews continued to be the order of tho day. But always and everywhere where the Jew found a friend in his country, the country found a friend in him. History does not tell the story o£ braver defence than that of the Polish territory—a mighty struggle maintained by Jews during the onslaught of the CossackG into Poland during the Thirty Years' War. A writer in the Jewish World points to Prague as holding the oldest military record, for in the Altem synagogue is still shown the much-worn flag of Ferdinand 111., given the Jews in 1648 for their courageous defence of Prague against the Swedes. The. Jews were permitted 10 serve in the Austrian army as far back as 1781; and amongst the Austrians who served in the international war of the first decade of the century was Emanuel Eppineer, who received decorations from the hands of two Emperors. A record of 1866 mentions the bravery of Moses Weber, who, after completing service, volunteered and fought at Sltalitz. A comrade, Puchreiner, was wounded in both -legs. Weber, amid a rain of bullets, drew him out of the lines, and, throwing him. over his shoulders, carried him'to the rear, and-then.returned to the battle, where, the officers being shot down, he gallantly took command of his company. There are. to-day over 40,000 Jewish privates and over 2000 Jewish officers in the Austro-Hunsarian army. Heinrich • Poises, a Jewish colonel of the standing : in,f antry, was * recently. raised to - the rank of; general-major and entrusted with the post of commandant of the. important fortress of Przemysl, in Galicia. ;. At ■ the same time o<-Jew was appointed directorgeneral of the army medical department—the highest military medical position in Austria.

Colonel Edward von Schweitzer, commandant of the Twenty-sixth Regiment of Infantry, is. one of Austrias most distinguished officers, who was- received at St. Petersburg in audience with the Tsar, who decorated him with a high order. Of the numerous famous Jewish officers in the Hapsburg monarchy, I -will mention only one more name, that of the former commandant of militia at the Brunn garrison, Colonel Alexander von Eisz. This officer, a favorite of Kaiser Franz-Joseph, "distinguished: himself: so greatly in the various campaigns .he has . gone through, that, his breast is-thickly-covered, with orders of the highest- rank. Besides the large golden medal "for valor" and several other- insignia, he possesses also the P.us« sian . Order' of the Crown. On one occasion he'was to have received the MarieTheresa Cross, given only for most distinguished bravery. Not,, more than six soldiers in .Austria at present-possess this, the . highest military.:decoration.- But Queen Marie-Theresa,' > inserted. ,in the statutes founding the orderi a clause. that it should be bestowed on Christians alone ; and-for this, reason von Eisz did <not re-ceive-it. He was told that if he allowed himself to be baptized he Would-obtain it, but this suggestion he promptly refused to follow.

The Franco-Prussian war was, of course, the great European war in which most Jews were engaged,, and' where they showed their Jove of the fatherland' in an unexampled degree. Phillipson, in his "Memoirs" has collected' a list of 2531. Jewish soldiers in this war, and this list did not include the from the large.*'. Jewish communities, Berlin, Bres.'iu, Posen and' Frankfort. : Germany h.ad ; already, in 1866, in the war with Austria, 1025 Jews who saw active, service, and a large number'of these were promoted for bravery and good conduct ; but in 1870-71 no less thai: 4492 Jews took part in the various battles. Ten ■ pet cent., or, to be accurate, 448, were wounded or killed, and 375 received the Iron Cross or decorations equal in importance to the medal. Oremieux said: "if you persecute, you make slaves; only by declaring equal rights for all will you make good citizens." King Frederick William 111. had no sooner given the Jews of Prussia equality with their Christian fellow citizens, iii 1812, than they responded readily to the summons of their king. And what reward did the Jews receive for their sacrifices to the country? Thev were denied public employment" They could not get appointments as teachers", serve as jurors, nor practice law, unless they submitted to baptism. They were not even allowed to be druggists. In the newly won French provinces the same laws were made to apply. Four thousand seven .hundred and ihrec Jews of Germany have been traced bv name and address, who served against France in 1870-71: and nearly 411 were decorated for distinguished" gallantry. There are In the German army to-dav over 6000 Jews. Germans have 'no right to ask: "Are there any Jewish .officers?" since Jewish subjects of Germany are refused the right of having their services in the army rewarded in the same manner as their Christian comrades. If the principle prevailed in the German armv, -Equal.rights for all." we would undoubtedly.find as many qualified otiicers of the Jewish faith as exists in the other European countries.

Bismarck had Jewish blood .in his veins. His mother's father Anastasius Menken, one of the favorite bureaucrats of Frederick the Great, was of Hebrew parentage. The Hebrew banker of Berlin, Baron von Blc-ichroeder, was Bismarck's most trusted confidant. Indeed, while in office he was so disposed towards the Jews that he even discussed the advisability of marrying hi s sons to Jewesses, on the ground that it" would not only bring money into the family again, but like" wise improve morally "and physically the Bismarck breed.

The late Count von Bliimonthal. one of the most distinguished strategists of modern Germany, was by birth and bv inheritance a i-ew.

Colonel von Mossier, aide-de-camp of Emperor William, .is a Jew both bv birth and faith. Colonel von Mossier commands the favorite regiment of Hussars of Emperor William, and he was ennobled by the latter in IS9O. His father's familv name was Moses.

In the Hungarian revolution there were no less than 5000 Israelites. As by magic they were drawn toward Kossuth, \°lio preached liberty and equality and at whose hands they expected redemption from civil and political degradation. The first soldiers that stormed Plevna were Roumanian Jews, and the generals on both sides were Jews. In the last war between Turkey and Greece, Giuseppe Misan, a'Jew, received the first wound. The Sultan of Turkey has gone on record as saying that there is not one of his Jewish subjects, upon whom he can fail to rely in time of war. When the war iviih Greece broke out, Jews from all hkt th.' Turkish empire volunteered their services as they did in the war with Russia. Forty Jewish soldiers were rewarded 1 by the Sultan witli medals in special recognition of their gallantry on the field durum the Graieo- Turkish war.

The .lews were first permitted to enter army in 1848, and immediately volunteered, while ""the year following five Jews fell in the defence of Koine against the French. There were Italian Jews in the Crimean war, and 250 were fighting as volunteers iu 1859. and a lars'e number were decorated. Of the 56. COO Jews in Italy in 1866, there were 380 who took to arms. A few of these Italian Jewish soldiers had remarkable careers. Lieut.-General Guiscppe (Jttolenghi was a Jew.

The year 1795 guaranteed to the Jews or France equality with French citizens; but, as the Dreyfus affair shows, the liberty of the justice to the Jew have not even yet passed from the statute into reality. .Still, in spile of all, the Jews of France rallied with equal promptness under the banner of the empire and the republic when the safety of their country was imperilled.

Even Napoleon, whose marshals, Soult. Ney, and Massena (whose r-e.il name was Jlanassch) were Jews—the last-named being one of Napoleon's principal generals and by him surnamed "The Child "of Victory"—did not regard the Jews as citizens until 1806. Jean Louis May and Simon Mayer, who both took part- in Napoleon's Sanhedrin, served in the earlier campaigns. The former received the Legion of-Honor, and the latter became an inspector of the conscript elections. In 1808 Napoleon had 1 797 Jews in his army of 77,000 men. This is a. large proportion, more than 10 in 1000: But the French record is exceptionally good for 1821: A Jew, Baron Woolf, held the rank of general. The records of 24 French-Jewish officers who served in the Crimean campaign are given in an interesting German work, "The Jews as Soldiers." Fourteen of them received different grades oE the Legion of Honor, one being: decorated by Napoleon in person. The Tile men who concocted the odious conspiracy against Dreyfus could find no fault in this patriot, except that he was a Jew, and, therefore, certain, to be condemned without evidence, and 1 the more they lied, perjured and forged the more they convinced the world of the absolute innocenso of Dreyfus. The Jews, though numbering only 80,000 in all France, have come to the top in many professions; they possess more wealth than their non-Jewish neighbors, drive the best horses, and inhabit the most splendid mansions. This is at the bottom of tho anti-Semitic agitation in France. On the 31st of August, 1290, Edward I. banished all the Jews, numbering 16,511, from England. They were pitilessly drivou from a country inhabited; by their ancestors as far back as tho eighth century. You could hardly expect them to love England; and yet, no sooner had favorable legislation restored them to citizenship than they proved their love of country. Tho complete emancipation of tiie Jews in England was not brought about until 1858, when Parliament resolved to admit Jews without the obligation, to subscribe the oath ."-on the faith of a. true Christian." Then their practical persecution was ended./ For, as Jlaeaulay said, "Persecution it is to inflict penalties on account of religious opinions." Down to this time- many eminent lawyers and judges doubted whether a Jew could lawfully hold real estate in England. Nearly fifty years have elapsed since the English Jews were fully emancipated l . Macaulay, champion of humanity, who did so much to remove their disabilities, declared it was unfair "till we have tried tho experiment, whether by making Englishmen of them they .will not become members of the community." ■ The Jewish race has produced a majorgeneral,' Albert Goldsmid, who had two horses shot under him at Waterloo, and twb ' lieutenants-general, Sir Jacob Adolphus and Sir .David Ximines, while Sir , Alexander Shomberg '• distinguished him-self-in .the .British- navy. ! More' than 900 Jews took part in the Boer campaign, and in proportion to ffieir number in the embire they bore much more than their share in their contribution to the fighting forces in the war-.with the Boers. . Major-Gene-Tal Sir. William'Penn Symons, killed in the South-"African war, was by descent and faith a Jew, and named'after a Quaker. Perhaps.no more, striking testimony to the.prominent part,'borne in the war, not onlv by English and South African Jews, but by their brethren, in all parts of the enrpire, may be gathered from the jest generally current ' in ■ New South . Wales, where the contingent of fcghting,men sent to the front, are humorously referred to as Cohen-tingents. The; Jews all over- the emniTe arose one in heart and (interest with the Imperial people;. among whom their lot was cast, indistinguishable in aims and ehaxacter' from the race with whom their fortunes

were united ;. and by sharing with isngland's bravest and best the danger- ami the elory of war, thev triumphantly repudiate,.' H,c charm- that the Jews "eunnot he nalriots while'they remain genuine Jews." And vet such was the ignorance of the patriotism of I lie Jew that while hundreds of Jews in Eneland ami the colonies were making contributions, to the natiional defence, and volunteering for and dying in South Africa in defence of the Fatherland ; even while all this was going on, a well-known Englishman, supporting the action of the mobs in attacking 'the Jews in Whitechapel, had this to say: " Race riots are deplorable, but- there . is undoubtedly cause for feeling against the Jews just at this period of "England's trials. The Jews make money here in London; they share our prosperity and- do not share our dangers. A Jew will cheerfully take a contract to supply the British amiy in Africa at a --relit. What Jew would take up a _gun or a sword on hehalf of the nation tnat shelters him? What jew has •figured" in England's- wars?" (Due would think that the facts mentioned which speaks volumes for the patriotism of the Jew, and serve as an object lesson to the world of the success, which waits upon a policy of wise toleration and justice, would make such -anti-Semites blush, if shame were not dead.

The eight millions of Jews in Europe furnish about 350,000 men to the strength of European armies; that is 'o soldiers of Europe is greater than that of any other race.