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TG Masaryk and the Jewish Question T. G. MASARYK AND THE JEWISH QUESTION “The main virtue of Miloš Pojar’s book is in weaving Masaryk’s “Although he lived at a time when prejudice of many types was almost uni- KAROLINUM Miloš Pojar traces the development and transformation of life story integrally into the history of the Czech national move- versal, Tomáš Masaryk was an enemy of bigotry in all its guises – including the opinions about Jews and Judaism of the philosopher, ment both in the waning years of Habsburgian rule and the anti-Semitism. T.G. Masaryk and the Jewish Question is a timely exploration sociologist, and first Czechoslovak president, T. G. Masaryk. first Czechoslovak Republic... Pojar’s description portrays of the values by which Masaryk lived, published at a moment when those Pojar describes the key events and ideas that shaped Ma- the confluence of Masaryk’s intellectual and moral authority principles are once again under assault. Readers everywhere, and leaders saryk’s attitudes: his first contacts with the Jewish world as in shaping the policies of Czechoslovakia regarding its Jewish across Central Europe, will benefit from this important book.” a child, and later as a student; the evolution of his thoughts population after 1918.” —Madeleine K. Albright, Former Secretary of State on Marxism, social issues, Christianity, and Judaism; and his —Shlomo Avineri, Professor of Political Sciences at Hebrew University pivotal experience with the anti-Semitic libel trials against in Jerusalem, author of Herzl: Theodor Herzl and The Foundation of the Leopold Hilsner. Pojar also details the period when Masaryk, Jewish State “Beautifully written and thoroughly researched – a major contribution to as president, formulated his position on matters such as the Czech, Jewish and Israeli history, describing the courage of Masaryk in the Czech-Jewish movement, the question of assimilation, and face of pervasive anti-Semitism, making a tolerant approach to its Jewish Zionism. Featuring an entire chapter on Masaryk’s celebrated “Masaryk’s interest in the ‘Jewish Question’ and Miloš Pojar’s population a major building block of the new Czechoslovak state. It was 1927 trip to Palestine, as well as a series of brief profiles of involvement with the fate of the Jews converge like a vanish- his leadership in the immediate post-World War I period that paved the way outstanding Jewish figures that explore both Masaryk’s atti- ing point in his book. Books indeed tend to have ‘destinies of years later, at the time of Israel’s maximum peril in the 1948 War of Indepen- tudes to their ideas and their opinions of Masaryk, this book their own,’ but equally some remarkable human destinies have dence, for critically needed arms from Czechoslovakia.” is a compelling personal portrait and a substantial contribu- their books – and this is one of them.” —Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, Chief White House Domestic Policy Adviser to President tion to our understanding of the history of Jews in the Czech —Petr Pithart, dissident, historian, former Czech Prime Minister Jimmy Carter, author of President Carter: The White House Years; Special Representative lands. and President of the Senate of President Clinton and Secretary of State Albright on Holocaust-Era Issues. Miloš Pojar (1940–2012) was a Czech orientalist, historian, “Tomáš Masaryk has always been a hallowed name for me. His strong sup- writer, publisher, and diplomat. After the fall of the Commu- port for the Jewish people and Zionism, together with his steadfast commit- nist regime he joined the diplomatic service, helping reestab- ment to democracy and liberal values, were all too rare in the early decades lish diplomatic ties with Israel, and becoming ambassador of the 20th century. This well-researched book about him is a must-read. It to Tel Aviv. He then held leading posts in the Ministry of explains why the Masaryk name needs to endure as a study in enlightened Foreign Affairs, and was subsequently director of the Educa- leadership and moral courage.” tional and Cultural Center of the Jewish Museum in Prague. —David Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee Gerald Turner has been one of the leading translators of Czech since the early 1980s. He was personal translator to Miloš Pojar Václav Havel, the playwright and President of the Czech Republic, whose writings he translated during the last T. G. Masaryk decade of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. and the Jewish Question U k á z k a k n i h y z i n t e r n e t o v é h o k n i h k u p e c t v í w w w . k o s m a s . c z , U I D : K O S 2 6 3 1 0 3 TGM jewish_prebal.indd 1 02.05.19 13:03 T.G. Masaryk and the Jewish Question Miloš Pojar Originally published in Czech as T. G. Masaryk a židovství, Prague: Academia, 2016 Czech edition reviewed by Dr. Otto Dov Kulka (Prof. em. Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Dr. Martin Kučera (Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences) Published by Charles University, Karolinum Press Ovocný trh 5/560, Prague 1, Czech Republic Translation Gerald Turner Editor Richard Vašek Cover and design by Zdeněk Ziegler Typesetting by Karolinum Press First English edition For their generous support of this English translation, Karolinum would like to thank the Forum 2000 Foundation, Avraham Harshalom, David Hercky, Hugo Marom, Rita Spiegel, and the Israel-Czech Republic Friendship Association. Cover illustration: T.G. Masaryk on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem Text © Miloš Pojar – heirs, 2019 © Masarykův ústav a Archiv AV ČR, 2019 Preface © Shlomo Avineri, 2019 Afterword © Petr Pithart, 2019 Translation © Gerald Turner, 2019 Photographs © Archiv Ústavu T.G. Masaryka (cover, nr. 1–20, 22); Archiv Národního muzea (nr. 21) eISBN 978-80-246-3880-5 (pdf) ISBN 978-80-246-3879-9 (pbk) Ukázka knihy z internetového knihkupectví www.kosmas.cz Charles University Karolinum Press 2019 www.karolinum.cz [email protected] U k á z k a k n i h y z i n t e r n e t o v é h o k n i h k u p e c t v í w w w . k o s m a s . c z , U I D : K O S 2 6 3 1 0 3 U k á z k a k n i h y z i n t e r n e t o v é h o k n i h k u p e c t v í w w w . k o s m a s . c z , U I D : K O S 2 6 3 1 0 3 Contents Preface (Shlomo Avineri) /7 1. CHILDHOOD, YOUTH, STUDIES; UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA (1850–1882) /15 2. MASARYK’S STUDY OF THE JEWISH QUESTION (1882–1914) /26 Jews in the Czech lands from the mid-19th century to 1914 /26 Masaryk’s arrival in Prague /29 3. MASARYK AND THE SOCIAL QUESTION; MARX AND MASARYK; THE JEWISH QUESTION /37 Marx and Judaism /37 Marx and his critique of Judaism /40 Masaryk and social issues /43 Masaryk’s critique of Marx’s views on the Jewish question /47 4. MASARYK AND RELIGION /54 5. MASARYK AND ANTI-SEMITISM; THE HILSNER AFFAIR /87 Anti-Semitism in Austria and the Czech lands in the second half of the 19th century /87 The Hilsner affair /94 6. MASARYK AND THE CZECH JEWISH MOVEMENT /108 The status of Jews in the Czech lands post-1650 /108 Laws concerning Jews in the reign of Joseph II /110 Jewish emancipation /112 Assimilation /113 Ukázka knihy z internetového knihkupectví www.kosmas.cz 7. MASARYK AND ZIONISM TO 1918 /131 8. MASARYK AND THE JEWS DURING THE FIRST REPUBLIC /147 The First Czechoslovak Republic /147 Jews in the First Republic /150 T.G. Masaryk and the Zionists /155 T.G. Masaryk and the Czecho-Jews /169 The Friday group /172 9. MASARYK’S VISIT TO PALESTINE IN 1927 /180 Conclusion /188 10. MASARYK AND NOTABLE JEWS /191 ILLUSTRATIONS /231 AFTERWORD: CONVERGING DESTINIES IN THE THOUGHT AND LIFE OF MILOŠ POJAR (Petr Pithart) /244 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS /250 INDEX /251 U k á z k a k n i h y z i n t e r n e t o v é h o k n i h k u p e c t v í w w w . k o s m a s . c z , U I D : K O S 2 6 3 1 0 3 Preface SHLOMO AVINERI Kde domov můj? (Where is my home?) – the hauntingly beauti- ful opening line of the Czech national anthem – could be seen also as encapsulating the challenges facing Jewish people in the Czech lands in the second half of the 19th century. Political equality granted to Jews in the Austrian part of the Habsburg monarchy in 1867 ran parallel with the emergence of the Czech national movement. In the cauldron of the changing realities in the multi-ethnic empire, the very identity of the Jewish commu- nity was thrown into the dramatic, new and unprecedented con- text of the struggle between German and Czech speakers that totally transformed their social and cultural existence: now the Josephine Toleranzpatent could not adequately address challenges which were no longer issues of merely religious tolerance. The main virtue of Miloš Pojar’s T.G. Masaryk and the Jewish Question is in weaving Masaryk’s life story integrally into the his- tory of the Czech national movement both in the waning years of Habsburgian rule and the first Czechoslovak Republic. In a memorable comment Pojar states that Masaryk’s leadership re- deemed Czech nationalism from serious strains of anti-Semitism and re-formed it in the mold of a humanistic, tolerant and in- clusive movement, eventually making post-1918 Czechoslovakia into the only post-Habsburgian successor state which not only es- tablished a consolidated democracy but whose ideology, policies and institutions were free from anti-Jewish discrimination which marred, in one way or another, its inter-war neighboring countries.
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