 |
Image: Napoleon was the first
leader in Europe to grant liberty, equality and fraternity to all
religions. In this lithograph of the period, Napoleon is granting
liberty to the Jews. |
The history of Jews in Europe during the nineteenth century is complex.
On the one hand, one nation-state after another granted citizenship
to Jews and removed the economic, social and religious restraints that
had
oppressed Jews for centuries. On the other hand, conservative leaders
and political parties in most European countries objected to Jewish
emancipation—they
clung to earlier views of Jews as pariahs and greedy moneylenders.
When these conservative parties gained political control, they often
imposed
restrictions on Jews.
The Napoleonic Era
Napoleon, who was crowned Emperor of France in 1800, was the first European
leader to grant liberty, equality and fraternity to all religions. After
an unsuccessful effort to gain a homeland in Palestine for Jews, he declared
France the homeland for Jews.
The Civil Code of 1804 granted religious freedom to all religions as
well as the Free Masons. In 1807, Napoleon assembled the Grand Sanhedrin,
consisting of the principle Jewish leaders of Europe, to solve problems
that concerned the Jewish community. This had been the first time in
eighteen centuries that such an assembly met.
Napoleon met considerable criticism within France and the Empire for
his support of the Jews. At certain times, he was forced to impose restrictions
on the Jewish community. Yet, the Jewish communities and their supporters
managed to have the restrictions repealed in 1811.
 |
Map: Map of Emancipation
of European Jewry. Map of Europe showing the date of the emancipation
of Jews by country from 1789 to 1930. Courtesy of A
Teachers Guide to the Holocaust. |
Thus, the Napoleonic period brought the Jews of France and the Napoleonic
Empire the first real experience of emancipation; Jews were allowed
equality before the law and relieved of oppressive taxes and restrictions.
Moreover,
Jews were permitted to take an active part in the political life of
the empire.
Napoleon’s defeat in 1815 brought an end to Napoleon’s
liberal policies on religion. At the Congress of Vienna, the freedoms
accorded Jews under Napoleon were retracted in France and much of the
Empire. The reinstatement of restrictions was particularly harsh in the
state of Prussia and the Papal States.
In 1816, while he was in exile, Napoleon's personal physician, Dr.
O’ Meara,
asked him why he had supported Jews. Napoleon responded:
Image: Napoleon Bonaparte I (1769-1821) Emperor of France. |
My primary desire was to liberate the Jews and
make them full citizens. I wanted to confer upon them all the legal
rights of
equality, liberty and fraternity as was enjoyed by the Catholics
and Protestants. It is my wish that the Jews be treated like brothers
as if we were all part of Judaism. As an added benefit, I thought
that this would bring to France many riches because the Jews are
numerous and they would come in large numbers to our country where
they would enjoy more privileges than in any other nation. Without
the events of 1814, most of the Jews of Europe would have come
to France where equality, fraternity and liberty awaited them and
where they can serve the country like everyone else.
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Source:
http://www.napoleon-series.org/ins/weider/c_jews.html |
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