THE COMPOSITION OF JEWISH COMMUNITIES IN EUROPE before the Second World War ensured the preservation of historical documents and data of most of the communities concerned. Apart from the fact that in the twentieth century nearly all the continental European communities were financially supported and controlled by the State, which demanded documentation of records, there were also sufficient numbers of Jews interested in their great historical past and concerned with Israel’s future destiny, to make it certain that the deeds of those who strove for Israel’s glory and good name, and the struggles of the Jewish masses, would not go unrecorded. The fortunate and happy position of the Jews in both America and England, where Jews have lived in freedom and upon terms of equality with their neighbours for three centuries, has also inspired numerous writers and research workers to inscribe upon the tablets of history the names of those who have contributed towards the welfare of their country or their people. Both the tercentenary celebrations held to commemorate the coming of the Jews to the United States of America and the tercentenary celebrations held to mark the return of the Jews to England were accompanied by the publication of numerous articles and books describing the part that Jews had taken in the advancement of England and America in the establishment and maintenance of their Jewish communities and activities. Time and numbers had created a Jewish pride in their past and in their lot.