Interesting private letters of Franz Joseph, the late Emperor of the former Austria-Hungarian Empire, throwing light upon the relation of Franz Joseph to the Jews, were published too day.
One of the published letters relates the following incident. During a table conversation at the court of Franz.
Joseph, the Emperor praised the generosity of a certain Jewish family in Vienna who had donated a large sum of money for the purpose of building a hospital. Prince Waldemar of Denmark asked with astonishment, “Your Majesty, I hope you are not a philosemite?” The old Emperor in reply smilingly stated,” Indeed I am. The Pope, too, protected the Jews, and I do not wish to be more papal than the pope.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
