Socio-economic life of Jewish Diaspora in the USA throughout the Great Depression era.

During the world economic crisis known as the Great Depression all the spheres of Jewish life in the USA exposed to changes. Even though the economic crisis didn’t touch all the Jews in the USA, a lot of the community members felt it’s hardships.

The crisis was the family issue. Jewish relatives began to live together as one family in order to fight against the Depression hardships. The hierarchy within this communities changed as well. Women began to take care of the households’ wellness. Jewish female teenagers sacrificed education for the family sake and sought for a job. During 1930-s new by its nature Jewish generation that was born in the USA but in the immigrants families opened to their surrounding society and joined the American economic, political and cultural life in a new way. Despite the crisis strike, a lot of American Jews followed their “white-collar” dream and got university degree.

Community’s leaders tried to restructure religious and cultural Jewish life in order to find the path out of the Great Depression. The activity of Mordecai Kaplan, Abba Hillel Silver is a good example of it. Jewish rich white collars used to help Jews who experienced hardships. The developing system of Jewish Federations tried to aid the Jewish community’s recovery. New Roosevelt’s course, known as “the New Deal” gave jobs and provided Jews with financial aid. Jewish organizations cooperated with federal structures. This good treatment, rumors and the influence of anti-Semitic politics in Germany poured out into the gigantic wave of anti-Semitism.

Despite the Great Depression in all the spheres of Jewish life in the USA, the community members found a way to recover in all of them.