Jewish American Literature & Culture

American Studies Seminar: The Promised Land

Footliks and Berkelhamers 1930s-1950s

Clockwise from Upper Left:

1. Lou, Pincas, Sara, & Belle Berkelhamer

2. Wedding Photo Belle and Lou Berkelhamer

3. Wedding Photo Belle Berkelhamer

4. Max & Kate Footlik

5. Max 7 Kate Footlik (Lake Michigan?)

Laura Leibman's Family History Project

Part II. From Margin to Mainstream in Difficult Times, 1924-1945

• Text
• Artifacts
• Family History Menu

From Margin to Mainstream in Difficult Times, 1924-1945.
The Norton characterizes the era from 1924-1945 as one in which Jews joined the economic mainstream, religious observance decreased and the younger generation became Americanized. These two generalizations fit well with my family history.

Economically, the Norton notes, “Jews shared the fate of other Americans” (Norton 330). If so, Americans did reasonably well. By the 1920s Pincas and Sara Berkelhamer must have been doing reasonably well financially, as he appears to have bought her a 25th anniversary platinum and diamond ring. They managed to hang onto this ring throughout the Depression. I do not know how my other great grandparents fared during the depression, but at least by the end of the era MAX was able to open a business with his brother Louie called “Footlik brothers.” They eventually purchased an apartment building with six units on the South Side of Chicago in Hyde Park. During WWII there were housing shortages in Chicago, and as their tenants’ leases ran out, they turned the apartments over to their children.

The Norton notes that "From the period of the First World War to the end of the Second was a volatile period for Americans generally and for Jewish Americans particularly; more and more they felt the growing threat of Nazism abroad and persistent and growing anti-Semitism at home" (327). When I was a child in the 1970s, the older members of my family almost never spoke of WWII. At the time I thought maybe this was because my grandfather was embarrassed he had not served. Later I understood that he had lost his brother, Rudy (1914-1944) in the war when the U.S. bombed the ship upon which he was a prisoner of war. My great grandfather PINCAS died of a heart attack when he heard the news, and hence my great grandmother had lost both her husband and son within the week. I have presumed that any of SARA's and Pincas's siblings or cousins who had not immigrated must have died at the hands of Nazis. Holocaust sites online support this belief in part, though another branch of the Berkelhamer family immigrated to New York and has flourished.

The Norton notes that my grandparents’ generation, which was raised in the 1920s and 1930s, was increasingly influenced by “English-language media, workplace, and schools” (Norton 331). An interesting artifact from my family supports this generalization. When my uncle Jay was born (1942), his grandfather Pincas sent him a photo of himself in his butcher shop. The back has an inscription from Pincas in Yiddish to his first grandson. Pincas’ oldest daughter Ann provided a rough translation, but noted that “maybe you can do better than I have for translating.” This admission is curious, as Ann should have undoubtedly been the most fluent in Yiddish. It is possible, however, that her knowledge of Yiddish was spoken, where as my grandfather had attended either a cheder or Hebrew school and hence might be more fluent in reading. This lack of fluency with Yiddish marks the “Americanization” of this generation, along with their unaccented English and their entrance into colleges and universities (Norton 333). My grandfather attended graduate school and his brother Rudy was a medical doctor.

My grandfather’s marriage to my grandmother BELLE FOOTLIK on October 23, 1939 also marked his movement away from orthodoxy and the general decrease in religious observance that was a hallmark of this era. Belle and Lou were married in a reform wedding, as indicated on the Ketubah (Marriage contract). They belonged to a reform congregation and, when I knew them, were proud of their Jewishness.

Documents & Artifacts:

• Maternal Family Tree
• Alter Pincas in Butcher Shop
• Yiddish on Back of Photo of Alter Pincas in Butcher Shop
• Berkelhamer-Footlik Photos 1930s-1950s

Laura's Family History Assignment Homepage

Part 1: The Great Tide Era, 1881-1924

Part 2: From Margin to Mainstream in Difficult Times, 1924-1945

Part 3: Achievement and Ambivalence, 1945-1973

Part 4: Wandering and Return: Since 1973

Maternal Family Tree

Bibliography