The Jewish population in America witnessed its smallest ten-year increase since 1877 in the decade ending 1937 and reached a total of 4,831,180, according to statistics in the 41st volume of the American Jewish Yearbook for 1939-40, out today.
“Already ten years ago it became evident that the growth of the American Jewish community was slowing down,” said Dr. Henry S. Linfield, director of the Jewish Statistical Bureau, in a survey of the numbers and distribution of Jews in the United States. “This trend continued during the past ten years.
“The decade ending 1927 started with a Jewish population of 3,389,000 and closed with an increase of 839,100. The decade ending 1937 began with a population of 4,228,000 and closed with an increase of 603,151. The drop in the growth of the Jewish population during the past ten years was due only in part to the fact that between 1918-1927 the total Jewish immigration amounted to 321,000, whereas during the decade 1928-1937 it was 70,000.”
The yearbook is issued by the Jewish Publication Society under the editorship of Harry Schneiderman, assistant secretary of the American Jewish Committee. The current issue features an article, “Twenty-Five Years of Overseas Relief: a Record of the J.D.C.”, by executive director Joseph C. Hyman; biographical sketches of noted Jews who died during the past year, an article commemorating the 900th anniversary of the birth of Rashi and a 202 page review of the year.
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.
