Chasing The Cure

English certificate of merit from NJH

In 1880, America’s Jewish population was about 250,000, composed mainly of Jews from Central Europe. But between 1880 and 1925, there was a massive immigration of about two and a half million Jews to the United States, largely from East Europe. This migration was stimulated by a number of significant “push” and “pull” factors, including pogroms, religious and economic discrimination of Russian Jews, as well as the popular image of America as the “Golden Medinah,” the Golden Land of opportunity. This surge in the East European Jewish immigration posed a challenge to the established German Jewish community throughout America, including Denver. As a group, these early German Jews had integrated well into the general population and many had achieved economic, political, and social success. While they gave generously of their time and money to aid the newcomers, at the same time they sought to “Americanize” these co-religionists, whom they perceived as a “different” type of immigrant, since many of the newcomers practiced traditional Judaism, spoke Yiddish, dressed in an Old World manner, and sometimes even espoused radical views as well: NJH soon introduced classes in English and even bookkeeping to transform them into “productive” Americans.