Why were so many Nuremberg toymakers Jewish?

Answer 1

There is no doubt that Nuremberg in Germany was a centre, perhaps the centre, for toymaking in early 20C Germany, as is evidenced by the notable toy museum there. There is also evidence of a close association of the Jewish community with toymaking in the region and in other parts of Europe, such as in Krakow in Poland. Many of the toys were made of wood, but also metal and mechanical toys were produced. Production largely involved cottage industries, where items were truly 'manufactured' (that is, made by hand). As to why many of the toymakers of the time were Jewish, it is necessary to take an historical perspective. Following the destruction of the Jewish state by the Roman legions in 1C AD and the dispersion of the remnant of the Jewish population throughout the mediterranean and beyond, Jews set up communities wherever they could find conducive conditions, influenced not only by the attitudes of contemporary rulers to new minorities, but also to opportunities provided by existing trade routes. Thus Jewish communities established themselves in such widely separate places as Spain, central and eastern Europe and even Goa and perhaps other places in India. Generally, for the most part, these Jewish commumities were well accepted and became integrated in their host societies. However, with the progressive spread of Christianity (which grew out of Judaism but was competitive with and eventually antagonistic to it as a result of the eventual achievement, within the church, of dominance of the ecumenist Paulinist theology over the more Judaic-centred followers of James) there arose in areas where Christianity was in the ascendancy a distinct and progressively anti-Jewish viewpoint that was to be seen in various levels of society. This sometimes was reflected simply in various forms of social isolation and ostracism but sometimes, in the more extreme cases, in outright persecution and progroms. In central and northern Europe in particular, the situation of Jewish communities became inseparable from the political forces of the time, including the power struggles between various regional princes and the various ecclesiastical authorities, including the Popes. A notable period was the so-called Protestand Reformation and the counter-reformation. It was within this context that Jews and other religious minorities were often afforded an element of protection from inimical external authorities by local rulers who sought to maintain their local autonomy and political power in the face of increasingly insistent external religious and financial demands. Thus, at the beginning of the 20C, there were many Jewish communities scattered throughout Europe which had reached an accommodation with the dominant host society. This tenuous acceptance, however, was often accompanied by a denial of access to certain occupations and public institutions, being confined to what amounted to ghetto situations, and overt or covert forms of social discrimination. In this environment, Jewish people gravitated to occupations which were for the most part not seen by their host communties as prestigious or politically threatening. These occupations included, financial activities such as money-changing and lending, jewellery and diamond trading, and watchmaking - which had a certain natural affinity with toymaking. The emergence of the toymaking indistry of Nuremberg may be seen as a particular example of the various foregoing factors at work. An interesting and generally overlooked aspect of the existence of a Jewish-based toy industry in Nuremberg is the influence it had ultimately on the development of certain modern mult-media institutions immediately following WWII. The most significant instance of this is that, following the flight of some of the key Jewish toymakers and related artists from Nazi persecution and their acceptance into the USA, is that these individuals went on to become the nucleus of what became the Hollywood-based cartoon industry in the USA and ultimately the Disney organisation. It is most touching to see, in the toy museum of Nuremberg, the early German-Jewish prototypes of Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat among others that later became household names and international icons, not to mention the most profitable commercial property of international media and marketing organisations.