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THE JEWISH NEWS
Call Us Today! 354-6060
1987 An Anniversary
For Jewish Surnames
DAVID BITTNER
Special to The Jewish News
T
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he year 1987 marks a
noteworthy bicenten-
nial in Jewish history
— and hardly anyone is aware
of it.
It was exactly 200 years
ago, in 1787, that Emperor
Joseph II of Austria com-
pelled a large bloc of Euro-
pean Jewry to assume last
names. Previously, most
European Jews used
patronymics to identify
themselves, for example
Moshe ben Avraham (Moses
son of Abraham). Within lit-
tle over 20 years, nearly all
European Jews bore family
names, either because of
Joseph's edict or because of
edicts of other rulers who im-
itated Joseph.
Frederick William II of
Prussia instituted such a law
in 1796, Czar Alexander of
Russia in 1804, and Napoleon
in the territories he conquered
in 1808.
By 1808, all the Germanic-
and Russian-sounding names
we have come to think of as
"Jewish" had thus taken their
original roots in our families.
Immediately affected by
Joseph's law of 1787 were ap-
proximately 250,000 Jews in
the Austrian provinces of
Galicia and Bukovina.
According to Rabbi Benzion
Kaganoff, author of A Dic-
tionary of Jewish Names and
Their History, their descen-
dants today in America may
number as many as 750,000.
"Three-quarters of a million
Jews living in the U.S. today
have no idea that this year
they could be observing the
200th anniversary of their
own names," he said.
Ironically, many of these
same people have recently
made the acquaintance of
Joseph II. They did so two
years ago when Saul Zaentz
produced "Amadeus," a film
about the composer Mozart.
The Austrian Emperor pic-
tured in the film, Mozart's
royal patron, was none other
than the great name-
bestower, Joseph II. The
film's portrayal of Joseph as
a firm but gentle lover of the
arts was a generally faithful
testimony to his reign as an
"enlightened despot."
Touched by the winds
of the Enlightenment, Joseph
sought to ease the royal yoke
imposed on Austria by his
mother, the harsh and
bigoted Maria Theresa—all
with a view toward actually
consolidating his power in the
Empire. It was Joseph's hope
to win the loyalty of his sub-
jects by instituting measures
designed to improve their
poor lot. By contrast,
Joseph's sister, Marie An-
toinette, scarcely profited
from applying her mother's
heavy-handed approach in
France.
If Joseph's liberal policies
were thus rooted in a kind of
political expediency, his
Juden Ordinanz (Jewish Or-
dinance) was a perfect il-
lustration of these. According
to Rabbi Kaganoff, Joseph
had a special aim in giving
the Jews German names and
taking other measures to
Westernize them. By naming
the Jews and allowing them
to pursue agriculture and
crafts, attend Austrian
schools and universities and
shed the yellow badge, Joseph
hoped to remake Galician
This year
celebrates the
200th anniversary
of an event almost
nobody knows
happened — when
Emperor Joseph II
of Austria decreed
that Jews under
his dominion take
last names.
Jewry into a strong, Ger-
manic element which could
help him control the Slavic
population of the province.
"The Emperor had 250,000
Jews and the opportunity to
use them to create a strong
Germanic bloc vis-a-vis the
Poles," said Rabbi Kaganoff.
"By making the Jews a part
of German culture, he would
have a controlling power for
the Austrian Empire in
Galicia."
rIb carry out his Juden
Ordinanz, Joseph employed
local officials. To these men—
sometimes reasonable,
sometimes harsh—was en-
trusted the task of actually
naming the Jews of the
Austrian Empire. Some of the
officials allowed Jews to take
names of their own choosing.
Often these reflected an in-
dividual's occupation, his
place of origin, or some
physical or personality
characteristic.
Other officials forced Jews
to buy their names. A Jew
who could not pay for a good
name would be saddled with
an insulting name like
Zingmirwas (Sing Me
Something) or Galgenstrick
(Dirty Trick). A wealthy Jew,
on the other hand, could af-