I LOOKING BACK I
So It Was
Continued from Page 2
Bavaria where special anti-
Jewish laws were the most
severe — Jews were not allow-
ed to be citizens. To control
Jewish population, only the
oldest son in a family was
allowed to marry, and only a
certain number of Jewish
marriages could be held in a
certain period of time . . . the
number of houses where they
could reside was restricted to
them, as were business oppor-
tunities and traveling about
. . . education and the profes-
sions were limited . . . Jews
had to pay heavy, extra taxes.
The 1849-49 Revolution in
Germany and in much of
Europe was put down but
there was still very little hope
for the future of the Jews. So,
it is no wonder the most
liberal and best educated peo-
ple (Jews and non-Jews) in
Germany fled to the new
world seeking freedom and
liberty.
Dr. Jacob R. Marcus,
America's greatest Jewish
historian, in his book (This I
Believe
1990) reminds us
that "Ever since the early
years of the 1200s, the Ger-
man Jews, carrying with
them their German dialect
(Yiddish) had moved eastward
into the Slavic lands. By the
16th and 17th centuries, they
had become the largest
Jewish group in the world.
They are the grandparents
and ancestors of most of the
Jews living in North America
today."
In the early 1800s, the Ger-
man Jews in America became
the most influential Jewish
body in the world.
Mr. Steiner and I continued
to correspond. I asked such
questions as — "What was
the origin or meaning of the
family name, Putzel?" and
"Do you happen to know if
they had a family name
before it became Putzel?" He
told me there were a couple of
legends about how the
Putzels got their name from
a German nobleman who
bestowed his name and coat-
of-arms on a Jewish family.
One story, as told by Henry
Lippman Putzel of Elkins
Park, Penn., is about a Jewish
family named Lippman that
lived in Bavaria several cen-
turies ago. During a pogrom,
a Rabbi Lippman was falsely
accused of a terrible crime
and was put in jail.
While awaiting trial (and a
possible death sentence) a
wealthy, elderly landowner by
the name of Von Putzel of-
fered to use his influence to
secure the rabbi's freedom,
with one stipulation. Von
Putzel explained that because
he had no sons he would be
the last of the family. His
name would end with him.
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Orchard Lake Road at Lone Pine • West Bloomfield
48
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1990
For that reason, the pre-
condition for the rabbi's
freedom was that Lippman's
entire family change its name
to Putzel, omitting the "Von"
which symbolized nobility.
Rabbi Lippman agreed and
was freed. The family name
changed from Lippman (also
spelled Lipman) to Putzel. To
this day, some members of the
Putzel family have Lippman
for their middle name. Some
also use it for their first name.
Dr. Marcus suggests that
the name Lippman was pro-
bably derived from "liebe
mann" meaning "a lovely per-
son" or a "fine man." Until
Napoleon opened the doors of
the European feudal society
to the Jews, most Jews did not
have family names. Napoleon
decreed that they must retain
one family name for all
generations.
We don't know how much of
the Putzel narrative is fact or
fiction — or just plain conjec-
ture. But, we do know a great
deal about the Detroit
Butzels going way back to the
1850s. And that's not
conjecture.
For approximately 100
years — 1860 to 1960, the
period of Detroit's great
growth and expansion —
Butzel was one of our town's
most respected and influen-
tial civic names. In our local
Jewish community, it was the
most important name.
We knew about the Butzel
broad philanthropies and
their deep concern for the
welfare of the have-nots; their
integrity and talent brought
them prominence in their
various fields of endeavor.
The Butzel name is and was
impeccable. They have been
such highly respected
citizens, they brought honor
and status to all Detroit.
But, it is with much regret
we also tell you that the
notable Butzel dynasty in
Michigan has just about
reached its end. There are no
longer any male direct
descendants of the Butzel
family living here.
We have two lovely Butzel
ladies as neighbors in Bloom-
field Hills — Sally Butzel
Lewis (Mrs. Leonard T. Lewis)
and Rickey Kahn Butzel (Mrs.
Martin L. Butzel). The Butzel
sons live out of our state.
And so, from our hearts, we
say thanks to the Putzel/
Butzel families. We are
forever indebted to all of you
for what you mean to us and
for everything you have done
for us. El
Leonard Simons is president
emeritus of the Detroit
Historical Commission.