ABSTRACT
This chapter shows German-Jewish influence in the Netherlands should be evaluated in relation to the particular situation of the Dutch Jews. Genealogical investigation reveals many instances of a close intertwining of Dutch and German families. German Jews were also inclined to see the Netherlands as a German province, and the Dutch language as some kind of broad German no more or less intelligible than any other German dialect. The immigrants were seen as corrupting Dutch-Jewish youth through German novels and philosophical treatises that undermined religion. Such accusations were levelled against the German Jews in the Diskursen of the Alte Kille. The authority of the parnassim, although weakened, remained sufficiently strong to be accepted by the mainstream of Dutch Jewry. Oligarchic rule in the Jewish community reflected not only the general political arrangement but also the economic situation of Dutch Jews.
