Circulare der k.k. [kaiserlich-königlich] Landesregierung im Herzogthume Oesterreich [Imperial Decree Restricting Jewish Marriage]

In order to limit the Jewish population, the Familiants Laws were introduced in 1727, allowing only the oldest son of a Jewish family to marry. These laws remained in force in the Habsburg Empire until 1846. After enjoying a period of relative tolerance under the enlightened Emperor Joseph II (1780-1790), the Jews were again discriminated against under Joseph’s successor, the reactionary Francis II (1792-1835). Starting in 1812, Jews were compelled to pass an examination in Herz Homberg’s catechism “B’nei Zion” before they were permitted to marry. The Familiants system forced many Jews to marry secretly. The children of such couples were considered illegitimate by the authorities and had to bear their mothers’ names. The Familiants system also led to large-scale emigration from those areas in which it was strictly enforced. Many of the communities in Hungary were founded by the younger sons of Moravian Jewish families. Echoes of the Familiants system are found in the literature of the days, such as the Jewish author Leopold Kompert’s “Ohne Bewilligung” (“Without Permit”). See R. Kestenberg-Gladstein, The Jews between Czechs and Germans in the Historic Lands, 1848-1918, in: The Jews of Czechoslovakia (Philadelphia, 1968), pp. 21,22,29,30; EJ, Vol. III, cols. 891-4; Vol. VI, cols. 1162-4 Our circular states in no uncertain terms that Jewish marriages contracted without the prior permission of the government are officially declared invalid