ABSTRACT
The essential liberalism of most German Jews caused them to shun the rival radicalisms of Zionism and Germanic superpatriotism. Orthodox Jews feared the domination of Liberal Judaism, whereas Jews of all persuasions in the smaller German states dreaded the rule of Prussian Jews, who outnumbered all of them put together. Some regularized scheme of subventions, raised by an institution with the authority to draw funds from the wealthier communities, was essential to sustain Judaism in the villages and small towns of Germany. The south Germans attempted to dilute Prussian influence still further by incorporating into the council a number of so-called "upholders of culture", including rabbis, teachers, and representatives of Jewish welfare and religious institutions. The Prussian ministry's new activism of 1931-32, inspired by impatience with the Jews' bickering and their authoritarian solution to economic pressures, likewise became apparent in the Prussian province of Hanover.
