The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb

by Irving Cutler

Overview

Vividly told and richly illustrated with more than 160 photographs, The Jews of Chicago is the fascinating story of the cultural, religious, fraternal, economic, and everyday life of Chicago's Jews. This edition of Irving Cutler's definitive historical volume also includes a new foreword written by the author.
 
The first comprehensive history of Chicago's Jewish population in eighty years, The Jews of Chicago brings to life the people, events, neighborhoods, and institutions that helped shape today's Jewish community. Cutler intertwines neighborhood histories with representative biographical vignettes of some of Chicago's best known figures, such as Edna Ferber, Saul Bellow, Benny Goodman, Mel Tormé, Studs Terkel, Paul Muni, Mandy Patinkin, Emil G. Hirsch, Julius Rosenwald, Dankmar Adler, Arthur Goldberg, Philip Klutznick, and many others. From their roots in the Old Country to their present-day communities, Cutler captures in extraordinary detail the remarkable saga of the Jews of Chicago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780252076442
Publisher:	University of Illinois Press
Publication date:	12/12/2008
Series:	Ethnic History of Chicago
Edition description:	1st Edition
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 10.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Irving Cutler is professor emeritus of geography at Chicago State University and a founding member of the Chicago Jewish Historical Society. He has written extensively on Chicago and is well known for his tours by boat and bus and for his illustrated lectures on Chicago.

Table of Contents

Preface, xi
1. The First Wave The German-Speaking Jews, 1
Introduction / Early Chicago / The Jews of Germany / The First Jewish Arrivals in Chicago / The Emergence of a Community and Its Institutions / The Formative Years / The Civil War Period / The Great Chicago Fire and Its Aftermath / Building South Side Institutions
2. The Second Wave The Eastern European Jews, 40
Historical Background / Shtetl Life / Maxwell Street: A Shtetl in Chicago / Earning a Living / Maxwell Street Marketing / Maxwell Street Institution / The Landsmanschaften / The Yiddish Theater / Relations between German Jews and Eastern European Jews / Maxwell Street Legacy
3. Through the World Wars Expanding Communal Activity, 103
The Effect of the World's Columbian Exposition / Through the World War 1 Perio / Relief for Eastern Europe and Palestine / The Growth of Zionism / Further Communal Development after World War 1 / Decades of Tragedy and Triumph: The 1930s and 1940s
4. Moving Upward The Arts, Professions, and Commerce, 136
The Literary Field / Artists / Music / Sports / Health Care / Bar, Bench, and Other Government Services / Commerce and Industry / The Jewish Labor Movement
5. The Last Half-Century Changing Neighborhoods and Lifestyles, 193
Declining Diversity and Shared Concerns / The South Side / Lawndale, the Largest of All / The West Town-Humboldt Park - Logan Square Area / The Albany Park - North Park Area / Rogers Park and Nearby Lakefront Communities / West Rogers Park / The Exodus to the Suburbs / The North and Northwest Suburbs / Chicago-area Jewry Today: Problems and Progress
Glossary, 281
Chronology, 283
Notes, 289
Selected Bibliography, 297
Index, 303

Editorial Reviews

First Place for Best Regional Book, Mid-America Publishers Association Book Awards, 1996.

"Deserves a space not only on every Chicagoan's shelf, but on anyone's who is interested in the rich ethnic heritage of the Windy City."—West Coast Jewish News



"Concise and thoughtfully written, The Jews of Chicago extends Chicago Jewish history . . . beyond any comparable history. It is a testament not merely to the impressive work that Cutler himself has done, but also to the community he chronicles."—Chicago Jewish History



“Cutler does a masterful job of tracing the history of Chicago’s Jews from the German Jews who came in the 1830s and 1840s to the East European Jews who arrived in large numbers from 1880 to 1925.”—Jerusalem Post

"A splendid study. . . . Presents the story with marvelous visual evidence, photo documentation, and superb ethnographic mapping of Jewish institutions in Chicago."—American Jewish History

"A thought provoking history of the Jewish community's development in Chicago and its contribution to our city."—Chicago Tribune

"Deeply absorbing even for non-Jews, because of the astonishing history of this ethnic group, an unmatched rags-to-riches story. . . . with crisp prose."—Chicago Sun-Times

From the Publisher

It would be impossible to write a history of Chicago without citing the contributions of its large, dynamic Jewish population. During the 19th century, over a quarter million Jewish immigrants flocked to the city from almost every country in Europe and the Middle East. In this engaging narrative, Irving Cutler renders the story of this successful migration in both large scale and individual microcosms. More than 160 photographs enhance the realism of this inspiring chronicle.

This is the first history of this important community in American Jewry in more than seventy years and succeeds in capturing the flavor and detail of the people, life, culture, institutions and structure of Chicago's Jews. Cutler's volume is both scholarly and popular, comprehensive and readable and is an important addition to American Jewish scholarship.

Jewish Book World