Eastern European Jews in Chicago

In the times of 1880 and before it would of been hard to find Jewish people in Chicago because, there were less than 11,000 in the city. However the small the population was in 1880, by the year 1930 the population of Jewish people in Chicago would rise to 275,000! To put that in perspective, the jump in Jewish population put Chicago as the third largest Jewish population city. (With New York and Warsaw, Poland being the top two.) Many of the recent Jewish immigrants came from eastern Europe and were very much different from the highly mixed German Jews before them. The eastern European countries that these immigrants hailed from include but not limited too; Russia, Poland, and Parts of Austria-Hungry.


When it came to housing you could find that many of the Jewish immigrants took over areas once populated by Germans, Czechs, and the Irish. They lived among Canal Street, Damen Avenue, Polk Street, and most importantly, Maxwell street. Many people would have push carts and would sell a wide range of items including; cheese, onions, apples, fruits, shoes, handmade crafts, mismatched shoes, and whatever the immigrants could find. These peddlers were often sell whatever they could find. Even if that meant selling such wares as second hand parts or junk. Only established Jewish immigrants could open a stand on Maxwell street. Other things Jewish immigrants did to make money was selling things door to door. They would have to deal with immigrants of other nationalities and that would speak different lanuges. Usually, however, in one generation the Jewish peddlers and salesmen would soon find a better fortune.


Even though there were Jewish immigrant one group of Jewish people, the German Jews experienced a large amount of trouble dealing with the new Jewish immigrants. They felt embarrassed by how the new eastern European Jews dressed and acted. The eastern Jews would would have long beards and long black coats. the woman would wear wigs or scarves over their heads and black pheasant dresses. The establsihed German Jews modified their fate in order to assimilate. They would often not remain kosher. The eastern Jew however embraced ever aspect of their fate, they would even send their kids to Jewish schools. The Germans Jews were often promante business men by this time and had money to spare. they would often use this money to help set up institutions to help assimilate the eastern Jews. They helped set up the Chicago Hebrew institute. This was sort of a YMCA for the Jewish. Jews could come in, meet, and relax. However, soon railroads and factories started taking over the Jewish neighborhoods. The Jews were able to afford better housing and soon moved away. Many African-American families moved to that area after world war one and it is still a African American place today.