The Jewish Oil Magnates of Galicia: Part One: The Jewish Oil Magnates: A History, 1853-1945 by Valerie Schatzker; Part Two: The Jewish Oil Magnates, A Novel by Julien Hirszhaut, Translated by Miriam Beckerman, Edited by Valerie Schatzker

Synopsis

The near-annihilation of Europe's Jews in the Second World War destroyed not only much of their history, but also knowledge of the contributions they made to the regions in which they lived. In The Jewish Oil Magnates of Galicia, Valerie Schatzker rescues the almost-forgotten story of the Jews who became the "wildcatters" and oil barons in one of the world's first petroleum industries. Combining a history of Galicia's petroleum industry with an annotated English translation of Julien Hirszhaut's Yiddish novel Di yiddishe naftmagnatn (The Jewish Oil Magnates), Schatzker traces the near-century-long boom and bust cycle that took place in the Austro-Hungarian province - from the perilous, back-breaking work of digging for oil by hand, to the introduction of the Canadian drill that increased production. Galician Jews worked in the industry from its beginning to its final days under German occupation. They were pioneers in exploration, refining, and marketing, and in the first part of the twentieth century were prominent among its technical, scientific, and managerial leaders. After the First World War, as borders shifted and minorities clashed, oil resources declined. During the Second World War, Nazi occupiers, using Jewish slave labourers, squeezed out the last barrels for their war effort. Schatzker's study and Hirszhaut's novel illuminate and inform each other: her monograph provides the historical context for the novel and his novel provides colour and detail, personalizing the history. Together, they offer a valuable glimpse into Jewish life in a vanished era.

Copyright:

1891

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780773584020

Related ISBNs:

9780773545540

Publisher:

MQUP

Date of Addition:

01/07/22

Copyrighted By:

Miriam Beckerman, Julien Hirszhaut, Anthony Polonsky, Valerie Schatzker

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Edited by:

Valerie Schatzker

Foreword by:

Anthony Polonsky

Translator:

Miriam Beckerman