John Gurda

In his new book One People, Many Paths, Milwaukee’s preeminent historian John Gurda shows how the entrepreneurial, intellectual and cultural contributions by the city’s Jewish residents over the past have made Milwaukee a richer place. Milwaukee’s first Jews were mostly enterprising businessmen who came with the great German immigration after 1848. The community changed with the arrival of Jews from Eastern Europe with distinctly different customs. Gurda also discusses religion and secularism, socialism and Zionism and the various movements with Judaism in the overall context of Milwaukee history and the situation of Jews worldwide. The author discusses his book tonight.