the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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226<br />
THE WORLD OF PRIVAtE BANKING<br />
Beyond religion, geographic origin was <strong>of</strong> primary importance for intermarriage<br />
and networking. This was typical among <strong>the</strong> bankers <strong>of</strong> German background.<br />
Thus, <strong>the</strong> German-Jewish <strong>banking</strong> community in New York cultivated its national<br />
characteristics, with <strong>the</strong> consequence that through <strong>the</strong>ir linguistic, social and cultural<br />
affinities, <strong>the</strong>y promoted investment <strong>banking</strong> between America and Germany,<br />
whereas <strong>the</strong> New Englanders drew on <strong>the</strong> capital resources <strong>of</strong> Britain. Jacob Schiff<br />
wrote in German to Sir Ernest Cassel and so did many o<strong>the</strong>r international bankers<br />
at <strong>the</strong> time. Similarly, <strong>the</strong> discriminating behaviour <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German-Jewish New<br />
York bankers versus Jews originating from o<strong>the</strong>r countries, especially Sephardic<br />
Jews, played a significant part in <strong>the</strong> Lazards’ decision on settling in Paris and<br />
London in <strong>the</strong> last quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century.<br />
Paradoxically in Germany, where Jewish bankers felt <strong>the</strong> strongest sense <strong>of</strong><br />
national identity and acceded to <strong>the</strong> upper echelons <strong>of</strong> society before World War<br />
I, <strong>the</strong>y were never entirely accepted, and were condemned to disappear when <strong>the</strong><br />
Nazis came to power. Gerson Bleichröder’s story is <strong>the</strong> paradigm <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problem<br />
<strong>of</strong> integration in Germany and Stern’s book is a brilliant demonstration <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
ambiguity <strong>of</strong> Jewish success. The fact that, despite <strong>the</strong>ir close collaboration during<br />
thirty years, Bismarck did not even mention him in his memoirs, is perhaps one <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> most revealing feature <strong>of</strong> that precarious condition.<br />
When comparing integration <strong>of</strong> Jewish <strong>private</strong> bankers in different European<br />
countries, <strong>the</strong>ir position in <strong>the</strong> <strong>banking</strong> community and <strong>the</strong> social structure <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> country where <strong>the</strong>y lived influenced <strong>the</strong>ir integration. The case <strong>of</strong> Germany<br />
undoubtedly contrasts deeply with that <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r West European societies. First,<br />
contrary to o<strong>the</strong>r countries, <strong>the</strong> German <strong>private</strong> bankers, especially in Berlin, were<br />
almost all Jews or <strong>of</strong> Jewish origin. Second, Germany’s economic growth at <strong>the</strong><br />
end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> nineteenth century was not immediately followed by modernization <strong>of</strong><br />
society and full integration <strong>of</strong> businessmen into <strong>the</strong> dominating elite. Until World<br />
War I, although numerous Junker were in relationship with <strong>the</strong> <strong>private</strong> bankers,<br />
money was still a taboo in <strong>the</strong> Ancien Régime aristocracy <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German Empire<br />
and as such constituted an insurmountable barrier to integration. Thus, contrary to<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r Western countries, wealth was far from being a condition <strong>of</strong> acceptability into<br />
<strong>the</strong> higher circles. Bleichröder’s life is revelatory <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jewish parvenu’s hunger<br />
for respectability. Despite his ennoblement for having undertaken to salvage <strong>the</strong><br />
fortunes <strong>of</strong> Prussian junkers who had been caught in <strong>the</strong> collapse <strong>of</strong> Strousberg’s<br />
railway projects in Romania, his growing visibility and luxurious way <strong>of</strong> life made<br />
him a target for those who despised <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> Jewish plutocrats. With him as a<br />
symbol, <strong>the</strong> conjunction <strong>of</strong> anti-Judaism and anticapitalism stimulated <strong>the</strong> rise <strong>of</strong><br />
German anti-Semitism during <strong>the</strong> 1870s. Higher education in select schools and<br />
universities was not a channel <strong>of</strong> social integration into <strong>the</strong> upper classes ei<strong>the</strong>r;<br />
this may perhaps explain why <strong>the</strong> German bankers had a lower level <strong>of</strong> education<br />
than <strong>the</strong>ir colleagues in Britain or in France before 1914.<br />
In England, successful bankers were generally integrated by <strong>the</strong> second<br />
generation. While <strong>the</strong>y adopted an aristocratic way <strong>of</strong> life, <strong>the</strong>ir attitude to<br />
landownership, work and leisure was different from that <strong>of</strong> aristocrats. Thus,