Jewish emigration - overview

Arrival of Jews to ScotlandArrival of Jews to Scotland

• Jews began to arrive in Scotland throughout the 19th century.

• Jewish settlement patterns:

– Edinburgh in 1816 – Glasgow in 1823 – Dundee by the 1870s – Aberdeen by 1893.

• These early immigrant Jews tended to come from Russia, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.

Why did the Jews leave their homelands?Why did the Jews leave their homelands?

• Mostly this movement of people can be attributed to the pogroms (persecution instigated by the government against a minority group) in Russia.

• Many others would arrive in the 1930s as a result of Adolf Hitler’s persecution across Germany and in his desire to achieve lebensraum (living space) for his master race.

KindertransportKindertransportHere are some of the children who arrived on British soil as part of the Kindertransport in the 1930s.

© Jewish Archive of Glasgow

Case study: Jewish community in GlasgowCase study: Jewish community in Glasgow• Minutes from the synagogue in Glasgow show that the

formation of a community began around 1887. • By 1879 there were 800 Jews affiliated to a synagogue in

the Garnethill area of Glasgow. • In Glasgow, a strong Jewish community emerged in the

Gorbals. In 1901 there were 5000 Jews. It is estimated that by 1939 this figure had doubled to 10,000.

• This community began to establish networks that were based around religion, culture, charity and education as well as a socialising.

• This is documented in numerous leaflets that were produced in 1901 for the Gorbals Jewish community. These continued to be produced for many years, initially in Yiddish but then with some English words too.

• The increasing numbers of Jews led to the production of the Jewish Times newspaper and then in 1927 the Jewish Echo.

© Jewish Archive of Glasgow

EmploymentEmployment

• At this time many of these Glasgow Jews were poor.

• Organisations were established for administering poor relief, which continued well into the 1930s.

• Jews found a degree of difficulty in gaining employment.

• Jews were not employed in banks or in government offices.

• Many established their own businesses, such as travelling sales.

Assimilation?Assimilation?• Jews tended to stay in their own

communities, namely in the Gorbals in Glasgow, with some in the more affluent area of Garnethill in the West End of Glasgow.

© Jewish Archive of Glasgow