William and His Negative Feelings About Jews

William’s Prejudices against Jews

a) Criticism of physical appearance of Jews

Perhaps the most blatant example of William’s anti-Semitic prejudice was his promotion of a grotesque cartoon drawing by the German sculptor/architect/inventor August Rincklake. William called this caricature “the three Jew faces”, which he arranged to be published in both the German and English editions of the satirical humor magazine Puck.(Diary, 1881-12-29, 1882-01-11)

In the German version, published January 11, 1882, the cartoon’s title “Die Raceographie” apparently means “the science of race”. The English version, published the same day, is titled “Noses and Names. A Study in Chirography and Race Character.” The poem below the drawing (included only in the German version) conveys the racist message that one can always tell a Jew by his large nose. The specific translation is:

This has always been the case,
If the thought also seems to us a new one:
From the face one can read it to everyone,
Whether he is Levy, or Cohn, or Meier.

To see the actual cartoon (English version) click on

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101074880533&view=1up&seq=22 and scroll to the bottom of the page.

For the German version, click on https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015084601270&view=1up&seq=268 and scroll to the bottom of the page.

This perception of Jews as a distinct “race” was becoming common in the late 19th century as Jewish immigration and anti-Semitism increased.(13)

It is possible that William introduced this drawing to Puck as a favor to Rincklake, whose work he admired and who made a bust of William in 1888.(Diary,D 1888-07-08, 1888-09-09). That may have been the case, but the drawing is such an obviously negative stereotype of Jews that one cannot avoid the judgment that William shared this prejudice. Another example of such prejudice was William’s description of Alfred Roos, the illegitimate son of Regina and one of her lovers. William, who until his divorce had believed Alfred was his son, remained fond of the boy and supported him financially after Regina died in 1882. But after visiting Alfred, then 13, that year in Berlin, William wrote that “he looks dreadfully jewish and he is small & puny.” The identity of Alfred’s father is not certain, but William likely suspected Stern, and his words clearly convey a negative attitude toward Jewish features.(Diary, 1882-09-17) Further evidence of William’s susceptibility to racial prejudice was a “splendid large black poodle” he received as a gift in April 1895; William named the dog “Nigger”.(Diary, 1895-04-22, 1895-04-25)

In fairness to William, it should be noted that while Puck’s caricatures of Jews – it printed many of its own in addition to William’s “Jew faces” – would be seen today as anti-Semitic, they were “not so regarded in its time.” Founded in 1877, Puck advocated total assimilation of immigrants. It poked fun at every ethnic group, not out of malice but to promote their integration into American society. And it frequently criticized acts of anti-Semitic discrimination.(21, pp. 85-6, 100)(3, pp. 110-12) But despite these good intentions, Puck’s caricatures served to reinforce popular prejudices against Jews and “ultimately defeated [its] editorial messages of good will, toleration and opportunity for Jewish immigrants.”(3, pp. 112-13) While the same assessment might be made of William’s “three Jew faces”, his demonstrable good will toward Jews on other occasions, as discussed below, ultimately overcame his encouragement of prejudice.

b) Money stereotypes

One of the oldest and most reviled stereotypes of Jews is that of the unscrupulous money-lender, an image that goes back to medieval times when Jews were prohibited from entering many other occupations. William appeared to share this common perception of Jews, as indicated in three of his Diary entries:

* “two Jews who want to sell Mortgages at 10 pr. Ct discount for me, which is respectfully declined.”(Diary, 1876-12-12)
* “Spent for Wm. G. Steins $150. to get him out of a money scrape with a Jew money lender”(Diary, 1890-12-01)
* “Freund bailed at $1000. by a Jew”(Diary, 1891-05-01)

c) General dislike of Jews

On other occasions William showed a more general dislike or suspicion of Jews. One of these involved an 1878 visit from another man named Steinway: “During the day John M. Steinway from Mount Vernon calls, I see from his papers that his name is Steinweg, born in Cologne in 1841, tell him he is no relation of ours in any way whatever, he denies being a Jew or calling himself our cousin”(Diary, 1878-03-02). There is no further explanation, but it seems William was offended by the suggestion that he might be considered Jewish.

Another incident occurred during a civil court case in which Steinway & Sons was sued by Frederick Benzing, a worker injured in November 1881 at the company’s factory on 53rd Street. (Diary, 1882-01-16) For unknown reasons – perhaps Benzing was Jewish – a number of Jews were in attendance for the initial verdict, and William was clearly apprehensive about their presence: “I had detectives there to watch the Jew crowd. After recess, Judge Daly delivers his opinion, and to my unspeakable joy, dismisses Benzings complaint….. Last night the excitement did not let me sleep at all. Now I slept like a top all night.”(Diary, 1883-02-16) [For the record, Benzing appealed the initial ruling and William ultimately paid him a settlement of $3,500 in 1887. (Diary, 1887-01-06)]

In another legal matter, William expressed a more explicit anti-Semitic sentiment, as well as German prejudice against Eastern Europeans: “Swindler Martin Braun caught at Arlington house last night, go to Police headquarters and identify the little polish Jew.”(Diary, 1889-02-07)

d) “Jew jokes”

Consistently with his circulation of the “three Jew faces” and other expressions of anti-Semitic prejudice, William was fond of telling what he called “Jew jokes”. While his Diary entries on this topic are typically vague, the most likely interpretation is that these jokes involved negative Jewish stereotypes.

The first of these entries, written during a sea voyage to Europe, was typical: “Have much fun with the Jews”(Diary, 1880-06-29) The context for this remark is not clear. It is possible that he was having a friendly and enjoyable interaction with Jewish passengers. But in light of the following entries, it may be more likely that he was making fun of Jewish passengers.

The next entry, not at all ambiguous, describes William and friends mocking Jewish accents: “We are almost convulsed with laughter, on baberich pronouncing hebrew words after me.”(Diary, 1883-07-19)

In the remaining three entries, William clearly told jokes about Jews, enjoyed doing so, and did so frequently:

* “Ferdinand v. Inten and wife with me to dinner. I keep them in a roar with my jew jokes.”(Diary, 1894-05-20)

* “Afterwards, chatting with Robt Behr, A. Zinsser L. F. Dommerich, Pupke, and keep them in a constant roar by my jewish tales and Jokes.”(Diary, 1895-11-13)
* “I entertain a number of my friends with Jew anecdotes”(Diary, 1896-02-29)

Sources:

3. Appel, John J. “Jews in American Caricature: 1820-1914,” American Jewish History, volume 71 (September 1981), pp. 103-133.
13. Goldstein, Eric. The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006, pp.17-18.
21. Mayo, Louise. The Ambivalent Image: the Perception of the Jew in Nineteenth Century America, Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1988.