Page 101 - The Track Of The Jew Through The Ages - Alfred Rosenberg

Alfred Rosenberg

wealth until even for them came the bitter end, somewhat later than
in the rest of France.
Let us observe first the situation in central France.
Impoverished by the tumult ofwar and the Crusades and in need of
money as the inhabitants were, the Jews found themselves in the
fortunate position to be able to set the interest rate at an increasingly
higher level. The result was that the temporary alleviation through
financial loan was transformed into its opposite.
The people found themselves deprived of all cash, which
was increasingly concentrated in the hands of Jews. Dukes, counts,
barons and bishops were indebted, but especially the common
people, and the situation became from day to day more desperate,
with the Jews in their insatiability not thinking to distance themselves
from the immoderate usury. They had indeed even given up trade
almost completely, did not attend the fairs to sell their own wares
like the immigrant Italians, Flemish and other peoples, and not even
to conduct intermediary trade, but only to lend money to merchants
on interest. They did not even try to obtain trade privileges for
themselves but only permission to demand an increasingly higher
interest. But where the Jews conducted individual small businesses
the authorities found themselves constantly compelled to insist on
trade in fresh goods since the descendants ofAbraham went about
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it only fraudulently.
The Jews had for a very long time the total possibility to
devote themselves to a regulated trade, manual work or agriculture,
but they were not interested in it. Louis IX even wanted to induce
them through an edict to earn their bread through manual work, but
in vain. The interest rate was set at 40%, it was naturally not
observed, the Jews knew how to get round all the rules related to
that. Of course they did not demand more than 40% but allowed
themselves to issue the promissory note for a much higher amount
than they actually loaned. This was also forbidden in the strictest
manner. In vain!
Then, in order to protect the poorest, it was forbidden to
the Jews to loan money to labourers on interest, but precisely these
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For more details, see Depping, op.cit.
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