Judith Roth

Judith Roth
Fictional Character
1632 series POD: May, 1631
Appearance(s):	1632 Ring of Fire (The Wallenstein Gambit) The Anaconda Project 1636: The Viennese Waltz
Nationality:	United States of Europe (born in the United States of America)
Religion:	Judaism
Date of Birth:	1951
Spouse:	Morris Roth
Created by:	Eric Flint

Judith Roth was a citizen of Grantville. She and her husband Morris were in Grantville when it was transported back in time by the Ring of Fire. As Jews, both Roths would prove important in bridging relationships between up-timer tolerance and down-timer anti-Semitism.

Shortly after a posse led by Mike Stearns rescued Rebecca Abrabanel and her father Balthazar Abrabanel, he asked that the Roths play host to their first "immigrants". The Roths agreed. Rebecca was astonished to learn that, not only were the Roths Jewish, but that they were openly so.

Prior to the Ring of Fire, Judith had had an interest in genealogy, and had traced her family back to Prague's Jewish community. She kept the information she'd gathered after that interest had lapsed, which turned out to be useful, since it gave Grantville some information about 17th-century Prague. After she and Morris relocated to Prague, she met one of her distant ancestors, Eva Bacharach.

In September 1634, she was selected to head the new National Bank of Bohemia. It was hoped that her status as both a Jew and a prominent up-timer who was known to be independent-minded would give credibility to the bank. While this was playing to stereotypes about Jews and up-timers, it was seen as necessary because Wallenstein had benefited heavily from the Kipper and Wipper currency-debasement scheme of the early 1620s. Therefore, money issued by a bank that he was seen as able to control or influence would not be trusted.