A Jewish-American Tale: The Early 20th Century

Explore the complexities of Jewish identity in early 20th century America, including the impact of the Holocaust and the significant contributions of Jewish Americans.

Essential Questions

How did American Jews balance the desire to assimilate with the need to preserve their identity?
In what ways did antisemitism and exclusion shape Jewish American institutions and culture?
What does the American Jewish experience reveal about the challenges of belonging in a diverse but exclusionary society?

Big Ideas

Belonging and Boundaries: American Jews have long navigated the tension between embracing American ideals and confronting the barriers that excluded them.
Shaping Identity Through Struggle: Moments of pressure and prejudice pushed American Jews to rethink and reshape what it means to be both Jewish and American.
Community, Conscience, and Complexity: Jewish American life has been shaped by both the desire to fit in and the responsibility to speak out—even when those values collide.

Jewish life in early 20th century America involved a constant questioning of identity. At a time when being an immigrant was far from celebrated, young Jews worked to free themselves from the “old country” traditions of their immigrant parents. This all came to a head when the world witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust. Suddenly, progressive American Jews needed to decide what was more important: their American values or the suffering of fellow Jews across the world. As Jews learned to balance the American dream with traditional Jewish values, a rich cultural diversity began to develop which has led to the great impact Jews have had on the United States until today.

How to use this guide
This guide is designed to enhance your students’ engagement with the video. You can explore the video together or utilize a flipped classroom approach, assigning the video (in full or in segments) for students to watch at home, then using class time to unpack ideas together through reflection, discussion, or hands-on activities. Choose the approach that best fits your students and classroom setting.

Discussion Questions

A Reaction to the Holocaust: After the Holocaust, the American Jewish community focused on strengthening its Jewish identity: In the years 1945 to 1965, American Jewish communities built thousands of synagogues and the number of students in Jewish schools doubled.
- Why do you think the American Jewish community responded in these particular ways to the devastation of the Holocaust?
- How might you expect communities to react to tragedies, even if not on the scale of the Holocaust?
Turning Inward: When American institutions like universities, suburbs, and vacation resorts instituted Jewish quotas to keep Jews out, Jewish Americans turned inwards, developing their own hospitals, resorts in the Poconos and Catskills, and communities in the Bronx and Upper West Side that mimicked suburban life.
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of an excluded community turning inwards to start their own institutions?
- Different Jewish communities and individuals in America have struck various balances of integrating into the broader American community (universalism) while still maintaining their Jewish values and traditions (particularism).
- More broadly speaking, do you believe there is a way to balance universalism (embracing an ethical imperative to contribute to broader humanity) and particularism (maintaining a distinct cultural identity)?
- In your life, and considering your own heritage and identities, how do you balance universalism and particularism?

Learning Activities

Role playing: Many of the first-generation Jewish Americans had much in conflict with their Jewish immigrant parents, as they differed in their Americanism, religiosity, and social status. Ask your students to list possible points of conflicts between the children of immigrants and their parents. Then, have your students role play two different conversations between Jewish teenagers and their immigrant parents. Afterward, discuss ways immigrant families can navigate the differences between the different generations. Invite students to share personal stories if they are comfortable.
- Scenario #1: The parents want their child to continue to attend synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday, while the child would rather play on their school’s baseball team and attend practice on Saturdays with their friends.
- Scenario #2: The child is embarrassed by the broken English of their parents and wants them to stop speaking Yiddish (a Jewish-European language) at home and in public. The parents are hurt that their child is embarrassed by them, especially when they work so hard to provide them with a better life.
Jewish life in America Today: Ask students to make two lists describing Jewish life in America as described in the video and Jewish life in America today. Compare and contrast the two lists. What has and hasn’t changed? (Examples could include antisemitism, acceptance of Jews in American institutions, and religious affiliation.) For students less familiar with the Jewish community, consider: How do you think a minority group might experience both progress and ongoing challenges in a country like the U.S.?