In 1920, the Hungarian parliament introduced a Jewish quota for university admissions, making Hungary the first country in Europe to pass antisemitic legislation following World War I. Quotas explores the ideologies and practices of quota regimes and the ways quotas have been justified, implemented, challenged, and remembered from the late nineteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century. In particular, the volume focuses on Central and Eastern Europe, with chapters covering the origins of quotas, the moral, legal, and political arguments developed by their supporters and opponents, and the social and personal impact of these attempts to limit access to higher education.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: Antisemitic Arithmetic Michael L. Miller and Judith Szapor Part I: Anti-Jewish Quotas in Central Europe: Historical Roots Chapter 1. Quotas and the “Jewish Question” in Imperial Austria Jeremy King Chapter 2. The (Great) Numbers Game: Demographic Anxieties and Quotas in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Romania and the Global Antisemitic Imaginary Andrei Dan Sorescu and Raul Cârstocea Chapter 3. The Prehistory of the Hungarian Numerus Clausus Law Miklós Konrád Chapter 4. Jews in the Hungarian Medical Profession, 1782–1947. A Socio-Historical Report Victor Karady Part II: Down by Law: The Numerus Clausus in Hungary Chapter 5. Mária M. Kovács, the Historian András Kovács Chapter 6. The Hungarian Numerus Clausus: Ideology, Apology and History, 1919-1945 Mária M. Kovács Chapter 7. From Numerus Clausus to Numerus Nullus Andor Ladányi, translated by Judith Szapor Part III: The Politics of Exclusion in Central Europe Chapter 8. Antisemitic Pacts: Student Fraternities and the Exclusion of Jews at Austrian Universities in the Interwar Period Andreas Huber Chapter 9. From Numerus Clausus Demands to Antisemitic Laws: Student Antisemitism in Romania, 1888-1938 Roland Clark Chapter 10. Anti-Jewish Quotas in Interwar Poland: Towards a Reconsideration of the Appeal of Fascism in East Central Europe Grzegorz Krzywiec Chapter 11. “Troublesome Foreigners”: The Protests against Jewish Students at Universities in Vienna, Bratislava and Brno, and the Dispute over Quotas in Czechoslovakia, 1929–1932’ Miloslav Szabó Part IV: Jewish Responses, Jewish Fates Chapter 12. Next Year in Brno? Brno’s Significance for Hungarian Jews in the Age of the Numerus Clausus and Beyond Ágnes Katalin Kelemen Chapter 13. “You can become anything, except a pediatrician;” Exploring the gendered impact of Hungary’s Numerus Clausus Law Judith Szapor Chapter 14. A Foreign Relations Fiasco? Reactions to the Hungarian Numerus Clausus in Weimar Berlin Michael L. Miller Afterword: The Enduring Legacy of Quotas Michael L. Miller and Judith Szapor