Adult learning at Beth Shalom: The Habsburg Dynasty

By Regan Lipes

(Edmonton) – There are dozens of organizations who are dedicated to the mapping of Jewish genealogy: Jewish-Gen being perhaps the most widely known. Understanding the paths of one’s ancestors can be a meaningful process of getting to better understand one’s own identity even if that history treads though unfamiliar places. Within the collective Jewish consciousness ‘displacement’ and ‘exile’ are familiar realities dating back to the expulsion from the Holyland. In more modern times, the Spanish Inquisition left Jewish people homeless, the deeply rooted antisemitism of Eastern Europe facilitated the massacre of the shtetls and Tsarist efforts at forced assimilation, and within the memories of the last hundred years Nazi aspirations for complete extermination. But what about all the historical spaces in between?  Equally a part of the necessary knowledge of the Jewish narrative is how the Hapsburg Dynasty treated its Jewish population.

The Netflix bingeworthy miniseries The Empress (Die Kaiserin) a German-language historical drama created by Katharina Eyssen and directed by Katrin Gebbe has brought the Habsburgs of the latter nineteenth century to the big screen, but in reality, this dynasty powerhouse was one that spanned from the tenth to twentieth century.  In fact, this legacy is still tangible within the contemporary consciousness with Princess Yolande de Ligne having been interred in the family’s Imperial Crypt in October of 2023. This was a family of power and influence, and one that shaped not only the geopolitical landscape of Europe, but the globe. But what did this mean for the Jews?

Dr. Joseph Patrouch, Professor of History in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta has been a popular lecturer both for the wider Edmonton Jewish community, and a repeat guest at Beth Shalom Synagogue for their adult education programming. Recently, Dr. Patrouch gave an online talk titled: “Jews and the Habsburg Dynasty.”  Initially this might seem like an academic engagement opportunity, but in addition to cerebral enrichment this proved to be enlightening for helping some within the Jewish community understand the trajectory of their own family history. Over forty people attended the presentation, emphasizing that there is a desire within the community to better understand the many chapters of Jewish history.

Attitudes towards Jews during the fifteenth century under the Habsburgs, as Dr. Patrouch explained, vacillated from intolerance, expulsion, and execution to short reprieves in these policies. What is important to consider though, is that as the Habsburgs amassed greater territorial control their power over Jewish populations also increased. Anyone who has heard the story of the Golem of Prague will contextualize the longing for a supernatural being to protect persecuted Jewish population’s antisemitic campaigns but also acknowledge that at various stages of the Habsburg dynastic rule, pockets of Jewish civilization were able to flourish in spiritual and cultural life. And yet, with the acquisition of Portuguese territories, the Habsburgs continued the Inquisitions that had already devastated Jewish communities in these areas. For an armchair historian trying to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of the early modern Jewish landscape, understanding the sheer expanse of Habsburg power brings about the realization that this dynasty exerted its own lasting impact on the evolution of world Jewry.

Antisemitism remained a constant but during the reign of Empress Maria Teresa some more influential Jewish families rose in their social standing. The Habsburg occupation of Bosnia in the latter part of the nineteenth century and annexation in 1908, integrated Sephardic Ladino-speakers into the Empire further diversifying an already complex mosaic of nationalities under Habsburg control. Acknowledging the profound impact of this family through time and across geographical space illustrates that endeavors to increase community knowledge about this history is a big part of the modern Jewish cultural equation.  After all, it was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo that spurred the First World War – to the enlist the great cliché: the rest is history!

Dr. Patrouch, who has conducted prolific research on the Habsburg Dynasty is a leading scholar on the topic of their legacy and the ideal speaker to learn from regarding how Jews were impacted.  As a frequent contributor to the adult education programming at Beth Shalom this gives community members valuable opportunities to gain better, more nuanced, perspective regarding the Jewish historical narrative prior to more infamous chapters in modern memory.

Regan Lipes is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter