The Baron: Maurice de Hirsch and the Jewish Nineteenth Century by Matthias B. Lehmann (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Baron: Maurice de Hirsch and the Jewish Nineteenth Century by Matthias B. Lehmann Björn Siegel Matthias B. Lehmann. The Baron: Maurice de Hirsch and the Jewish Nineteenth Century. Stanford, CA: Standford University Press, 2022. 400 pp. In his newest book, Matthias B. Lehmann embarks on the mission of writing a biography of Baron Moritz (Maurice) de Hirsch. Despite the missing personal papers of Baron de Hirsch, Lehmann’s biographical study successfully “opens a window onto the larger world of the Jewish nineteenth century” and “presents a trans-national, pan-European story” (7). It could be written predominately based on Baron de Hirsch’s business papers and family correspondences stored in various archives and libraries across the world. The first part, entitled “European family,” illustrates the rise of the Hirsch family starting with Jacob Hirsch (1764–1840), the grandfather of Baron de Hirsch, who was granted the status of nobility by the Bavarian king in 1818. The history of the Hirsch family unfolds in a time when capitalism began to change the social and political framework of societies and emancipation began [End Page 493] to offer new possibilities for European Jews. Baron de Hirsch was born in 1831 into a circle of Jewish families that had profited from these new political and social circumstances. He even strengthened this elitist and transnational network by his marriage with Clara Bischoffsheim. When on April 17, 1869, Baron de Hirsch signed a preliminary agreement on the Ottoman railroad concession, he finally joined the first ranks of Europe’s bankers and financiers and the “new [Jewish] aristocracy.” Even though the family did not gain dynastic status due to the early death of son Lucien (1887) and the problematic relations with granddaughter Lucienne (daughter of Lucien and Irène Premelic) or the other two adopted children, Baron de Hirsch began to symbolize the “new nucleus of political power within the Jewish world” (39). Jewish solidarity and the advocacy of Jewish rights across the globe remained as important as being a businessman and citizen of a European nation with economic interests and an imperial and “civilizing mission.” By examining major European newspapers and journals, Lehmann illustrates how the European press began to shape the image of Baron de Hirsch, but also fueled antisemitic discourses about him and his philanthropic and political endeavors. The origins of Baron de Hirsch’s wealth are studied in the second chapter of the book, which gives insight into his economic activities in the context of the Ottoman railway construction. Lehmann reveals in this rich and sometimes overwhelmingly detailed chapter how Baron de Hirsch’s economic plans and his participation in the politics of “railroad imperialism” paved the way for a new modernity and profoundly changed ideas of mobility. Moreover, Baron de Hirsch’s successful business practices led to further antisemitic imaginations in European politics and the press, which heavily influenced the status of Baron de Hirsch in the following decades. In the third chapter, Lehmann therefore turns toward the politics of philanthropy, which became important after the war between the Russian and Ottoman empires in 1877–1878 and the ensuing humanitarian crises in central and eastern Europe. Personal envoys, such as Emmanuel Veneziani, were dispatched by Baron de Hirsch and showed his style of politics as a nonstate agent. In addition, these efforts exemplify how Baron de Hirsch supported the ideas of Jewish solidarity and universalist humanitarianism at the same time and used them to establish his personal “politics of empathy.” Baron de Hirsch’s support of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (he donated one million francs in 1873) and its vocational training programs as well as its school system must be seen in this context. In a similar vein, he donated twelve million francs in 1888 to establish a new foundation in Austria-Hungary and promote education in Habsburg Galicia. While these efforts demonstrate Baron de Hirsch’s ongoing support for educational programs, they also show his entanglement in imperial discourses, including the idea of a Western European “civilizing mission.” The “Russian exodus,” which was fueled by antisemitism in Russia and Europe, but also by the economic decline of the Russian Empire, changed Baron de Hirsch and led...