Was Ezra Pound a descendent of Jews?

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Your question reminds me of the persistent Soviet/Russian folk legends that Isaak Newton and Abraham Lincoln were Jews ;-)

There is no reason to think that Ezra Pound had any connection to Jews. He is a descendant of Puritans and Quakers.

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I only find extreme-right sites

That's probably because he is known to have been

a fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II

and

wrote for publications owned by the British fascist Sir Oswald Mosley, embraced Benito Mussolini's fascism, and expressed support for Adolf Hitler. During World War II and the Holocaust in Italy, he made hundreds of antisemitic, paid radio broadcasts for the Italian government, including in German-occupied Italy, attacking the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt and, above all, Jews, as a result of which he was arrested in 1945 by American forces in Italy on charges of treason.

Wikipedia: Ezra Pound.

More to the point,

Calling himself "Dr Ezra Pound" (he did not have a doctorate), Pound referred to Jews as "filth". He praised Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, recommended eugenics to "conserve the BEST of the race", and said the melting pot in America was "lost". He complained about "Mr. Churchill and that brute Rosefield [President Franklin Roosevelt] and their kike postal spies and obstructors". When he learned that the Nazis in Italy were rounding up Jews, he suggested that book stores showcase The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (1903), a hoax document purporting to be a Jewish plan to dominate the world. He wrote: "The arrest of Jews will create a wave of useless mercy; thus the need to disseminate the Protocols."

Wikipedia: Ezra Pound's radio broadcasts (1941-45).


A person with the name Ezra seems to have some relationship to Jewish culture/religion.

Obviously ! As a (cultural) Christian, his (nominal) religion is ultimately a descendant of Judaism; to state matters more clearly, within Protestant Christianity, specifically, biblical names are usually preferred over those of Christian saints, since praying to the latter and/or venerating their images or statuettes (a fairly common Roman Catholic devotion) is seen as a forbidden practice by many denominations descending from the Reformation.


Pound seems like one of those names that were created during the Holy Inquisition in Europe, by the New-Christians (Converted Jews).

Why ? Because it happens to have monetary connotations ? Apparently, Pound

is an English medieval surname. It may be locational and as such describes a person who lived by a pound, or came from a place called Pound, of which there are several examples around the country. The origin is the Olde English pre 7th century 'pund', the later pound. This was a walled enclosure, usually round with one entrance, and of which a number of fine examples still exist, where stray animals were 'impounded' until collected by their owners, who then had to pay a fine to the Pounder, a job descriptive surname. An alternative occupational origin which will certainly apply to some nameholders, is that the name describes a skilled iron worker, one who was responsible for manufacturing the ancient weights and measures known as 'pounds'. The derivation being again from a word spelt 'pund', although obviously the meaning is quite different.

Surname Database: Pound.

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