I found the section on working conditions very poor. The section barely focused on the rich Jews. It was biased in the way of the poor people. The poor used to work in what was called, ‘ The sweatshop industry.’ The sweated trade consisted of terrible working conditions, low wages and long hours. It was the kind of job that nobody wanted but had to do in order to live in the environment they were in. Although some people died working in the garment industry because of the lousy conditions. The job required making garments and waterproofs.
The museum used to be a ladies synagogue of which opened in 1874 and last for over a hundred years. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews visited this synagogue everyday up until 1982. The Jews that lived in Manchester spoke a wide variety of languages from English, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, Rumanian and many other cultures. In 1788 industrial revolution hit Manchester when the first Jews arrived to escape from poverty and persecution. There were approximately twenty Jewish families living in the slum area of old Manchester, near the cathedral for that was what they only could afford. They couldn’t find jobs because they struggled to speak the English language. This meant that the only thing that was left was to either sell second hand goods or beg on the streets. By 1840 the number of Jews grew up to three hundred. It was thought that they were just passing their way through to get to America were they had planned to live. This didn’t happen, the Jews ended up living in Manchester with a huge challenge on their hands. They had to learn English, find a job, find somewhere to live and try to find education for their children. Education was difficult for the Jews as there was only one Jewish school in the local area. The King David School. The children that went to the school were extremely lucky as only a certain amount of children could go.
By 1860 around one thousand and five hundred Jews were living in Manchester. They were refugees and asylum seekers. I think the reason why the amount of Jews living in Manchester increased was because it was a free place, they didn’t get treated differently and punished for their religion. The Jews had taken up many areas of Manchester in the 20th Century. Places like Cheetham Hill, Brohoughtoh, Groves Venor, St Matheas, Trinity Ward and Albert Parkward. I found this information out from the old maps of Manchester. The map was marked on the houses were the Jews were located. Red Bank was a popular place for the Jews that had just immigrated to Manchester. It was a cheap slum area, costing only twelve and a half pence per week, located in a poor district. The houses were badly built, back-to-back with no garden, small rooms and usually sharing with at least one family. The place was heavily polluted, although was near to synagogues and communal facilities. From the pictures of a regular Jewish household I noticed that the rooms were very small, containing second hand furniture, flagged flooring, with no kitchen and no bathroom.
The Jews that worked could afford to live in Cheetham Hill. This cost thirty-five pence up to eighty-five pence per week. Although these houses were also very small but the area was acceptable and not full of pollution. The upper class Jews could afford to live in Hightown. These Jews were well educated and had successful jobs. The houses in Hightown were terraced containing a front garden, bathroom and kitchen. These Jews could afford to live alone costing two pound per week. The residents in Hightown could even afford a maid.
By 1911 the government brought the idea to mind to take money from those who had high wages, this would pay for health services and conditions. By 1920 the National insurance applied to everyone. This put a huge strain on the third class Jews for they had just settled into the environment, found a job and somewhere to live, struggled learning the English language only to find out that they had to give money to the English government. The Jews also had to give money to the Sudukah. This is a charity in which is expected of the Jews to give 10% of what they earn. Life was clearly hard work for the Jews at this time.
The displays in the museum helped because they gave me an idea of how the Jews were treated. Most of the displays were not from the early 20th Century, they were reconstructed. This was a huge downfall because it meant that the information was not 100% reliable. The reason why I think this is because reconstructions may change and miss out important details of the actual construction. Having a display which was actually from the period I am studying would definitely help in research because it gives an accurate idea and shows what kind of materials were used. The phones in the museum were not reliable because they were recorded by actors and contained stories, which did not really help with my study of living and working conditions.
The tour guide was fantastic. In my opinion he was the source that I gained the most information from. He was the highlight of the museum because he had great knowledge of the Jews in the early 20th Century. Being a Jew himself he spoke for his people. Although the man seemed to avoid questions that he clearly didn’t have the knowledge to answer. The guide came across to me as biased throughout his talk. He made sure the audience knew how he felt about the situation of the Jews. He believed that the Jews were badly treated by everyone and they didn’t deserve the punishment that they received. He focused most of his attention on the poor Jews and where abouts they had to live. The tour guide wasn’t reliable both because it was only one point of view and he didn’t give an equal and fair opinion. I think that there should have been more than one guide because with several the talk would have looked at more aspects of Jewish life and not just one person’s opinions.
The museum was a huge disappointment because I was expecting to gain a lot more knowledge about the Jews in which I didn’t really achieve. It was impossible to find everything out about the living and working conditions of Jews because there wasn’t a lot of information offered. The top floor of the museum was full of artefacts and the bottom floor was about the Jewish religion. I asked the guide if he had any more information about the living and working life of the Jews and he claimed that there was a room full but there was nowhere to display them. They asked the council if they could build an extension but they declined. I think this would have been a huge help because then it would have given me more knowledge about my interests. I also think that some of the information displayed wasn’t appropriate and they could have made use of this space with information that was beneficial and interesting. I can back this point up for there was a display of a Jewish yearbook and a template of what the teachers used to put on the naughty school children. This kind of evidence wasn’t relevant to me. Although if I was studying the education for Jews in Manchester then this would have been interesting but I wasn’t and I found this pointless.
The press and the Jewish public donated the museums artefacts, so some of the information wasn’t really important and trivial. The museum also didn’t meet all of my needs because the section on working conditions was terrible. It only had worthy information of the sweatshop trade and the poor Jews jobs. Although the living conditions was great because the tour guide talked about the different class areas. There were also maps and pictures of the houses. The telephones were not beneficial as they were not reliable and you couldn’t understand what they were saying.
The museum was beneficial in the way of connecting to the Jews. The Jewish people owned the museum so their views of Jewish life in the early 20th Century benefited me. The Jewish guide explained about the values of Jewish life and his beliefs. He went into great detail about this topic to explain their religion. The Jews believe in God but do not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. He explained about the Bar Mitzvah, which is some of the commandments from God. A girl has her Bar Mitzvah when she is 12 and a boy has his when he is 13. This is the age when they are classed as adults. They must read the Torah to say thank you to God. In the synagogue there is a chair for circumcision. All Jews believe that it is right to be circumcised and it shows their faith in God. They also believe that the Mitzvah is something God commands them to do.
From the information that I found out I can evaluate that the tour guide went into great detail about the aspects of Jewish life, which wasn’t useful to me. He didn’t talk in detail about the living conditions although there was plenty of information to look at about the Jewish household. The tour guide didn’t focus his attention on the aspects of the Jews I was looking for, which was living conditions and working lives. He did mention the difference between men and women. He claimed that the Jews also were treated different depending on their sex. Many Jewish women didn’t have jobs because they were thought to be under educated and helpless. The women were expected to stay at home and be a family minder. The women that did have jobs received a lower pay than men just because they were female. Most women that worked were machinists because the Jewish males had taken higher occupations like being a doctor or lawyer. Up until recently males used to be secretaries and handle computing skills but now it is considered a female job. Many women at this time hadn’t been educated which made it impossible for them to get a job.
In 1891 the Jewish children started working when they were 10. They started work this early because their parents needed support, as they could not afford to live off one pay cheque. The older children would help out by giving their parents their wages and eventually looking after them when they became old. In 1902 the legal age for a child to work turned up to 13. This was the age they left school and then went straight into a job.
The first generation of Jews that moved to Manchester started running their own businesses. Unfortunately the businesses were unsuccessful because they didn’t have much money and didn’t invest. Most Jews went into the clothing industry, tailoring, cap making, waterproofing, garment making, footwear manufacturing and cabinet making. These kinds of jobs were popular with the Jews because the English public didn’t want to do them and the Jews were desperate to earn some money. The Jews that moved to Manchester struggled through life as they arrived lightweight with nothing to fall back on; it was an incredibly dangerous risk to take.
I think the Jewish museum was for the more younger generation than myself because it had guessing games and information that I already knew which was irrelevant to the topic. I would advise students that are studying Judaism in Religious Education to visit the museum because I think it had a lot more to offer about their religion and also lets you experience what a synagogue looks like. Another bonus to the topic of Judaism is that the tour guide was more enthusiastic about his religion and showed more interest when talking about Judaism. The windows had paintings of a Menorah and the Star of David. I would strongly recommend the museum to the department of RE. I would still advise historians to visit the Jewish museum because it did benefit my knowledge and is a piece of evidence even though it didn’t meet all of my needs.
The museum obviously had limitations of what to have on display considering the space and what the tourists would be interested in. I strongly disagree on some of the information that was provided on display because they seemed irrelevant to most topics. I found a school year book, pictures of teachers and class photos. Personally I believe that this kind of information isn’t appropriate and beneficial for an historian studying working and living conditions. Although these pieces of evidence were there because they may be interesting and beneficial for those who study The Jew’s education and the schools that they went to. I think that it would have been more interesting and useful if there was a reconstruction of the work place in which poor Jews worked. Although this wouldn’t be completely reliable it would make me understand more about the Jews struggle to keep living in Manchester.
To some extent the information was fantastic for they had been donated from the Jews of the early 20th Century. Although the phones, reconstructions and tour guide were not accurate. The phones and the reconstructions were not trustworthy and just the thoughts of a person who studied the Jews which is only one point of view. The guide was biased and didn’t focus his attention on my interests. Personally I feel that to find out in full detail about the living and working conditions of Jews, I would have to research more thoroughly, looking at different sources. The Jews that worked at the museum didn’t used to live in Manchester; they used to live in London. This is also another factor of why the information I found out was not accurate because their thoughts are not proof of what Manchester was actually like because they haven’t lived there all their life.
The museum is only one source of evidence. As an historian there are many other sources I would be able to use to find out more about living and working conditions. The Internet is a good source of research because with a search engine I would be able to access thousands of sites about the Jews. Also I could email or write to the owners of the website and ask for more information. Using computer software may also improve my knowledge, using software like Encarta and Britannica. Another source that I could use to improve my knowledge on this topic is to interview a Jew that lived in Manchester in the 20th Century, then interview a Jew that lives in Manchester now to find out how much has changed between generations. This would be a great help because I would be able to ask questions, which the tour guide at the museum didn’t have the knowledge to answer. It would also help to see the emotions and listen to the memories of the Jews struggle in the early 20th Century. I could also do my research in the local library using books by many authors to compare their opinions. This would benefit me because I would then have more than one thought about the aspects of living and working conditions, it would also make me aware of the real truth. Visiting other museums about the Jews would be helpful because they may have artefacts that the Jewish museum in Manchester didn’t have and the tour guides may have the knowledge to answer my requested questions. There are many different ways in which I could be wiser of the Jews that moved to Manchester because the world today offers a lot of information and different sources to study, which makes a better historian.
Finally through all the information I have gathered from the Jewish museum of Manchester I found the place to be a great benefit to an historian studying about the Jews. Although my task was to find out about the living and working conditions of the Jews. Plenty of information was given about this topic but I expected to gain more. The reason why is because it didn’t meet all my needs and I left the museum with questions that were unanswered. Questions that I didn’t receive answers to, were like; did the Jews fit well into the Manchester community? Did the educated Jews take over the jobs of English citizens?
I conclude that The Manchester Jewish museum is a source, which provides information in great detail about the Jews depending on what aspects of the Jews you are interested in. My interests of the living and working conditions of the Jews benefited me when I had visited the museum although I was disappointed with the amount of information I found out about this topic. I think that the museum provided irrelevant information to what I was looking for. The museum is only one source and there are plenty, more sources to look at, I think that the museum is a starting point for an historian to get the basic details of this topic. The museum is helpful, although there are many other sources, which would benefit an historian more for the research on the living and working conditions of the Jews.