According to Marnie Winston-Macauley writing for ‘Aish’ jews are responsible for the invention of drive-through banking with the specific jew credited being George Sax. (1) This while often repeated is completely wrong and based on a misunderstanding.
The ‘Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans’ for example credits Sax with ‘inventing drive-through banking’ ‘after World War II’:
‘George Sax graduated from Brown’s Business College in Peoria, Illinois, in 1923. He financed his education through a series of odd jobs. Upon graduation, he worked for an investment company. In the early 1940s, he joined the Exchange National Bank of Chicago and shortly thereafter was elected to its board of directors. Two years later, the bank moved from its original location to Chicago’s “Wall Street” on LaSalle and Adams. In 1953, Sax became chairman of the board. The 20 years that Sax devoted to the Exchange National Bank saw the inception of new banking practices and services that have since been adopted by many banks throughout the country, including drive-in banking. In addition, after World War II, Sax was involved in another business venture. He owned Miami Beach’s first luxury hotel, the Saxony Hotel.’ (2)
The problem with this is this biographical sketch is as best I can work out extremely inaccurate since Sax didn’t ‘join the Exchange National Bank of Chicago’ at all, but rather he purchased a controlling stake in the Halsted Exchange National Bank in 1944 which he then re-named as the Exchange National Bank of Chicago sometime between 1944 and 1946. (3) In 1946 Sax then introduced drive-through banking to the branches of the Exchange National Bank of Chicago (4) but he didn’t invent the concept at all.
The first drive-through bank was in fact invented by the Hillcrest State Bank in Dallas in the late 1920s – usually given as 1928 – (5) which then spread rapidly to other states like Missouri by 1930 with the innovation being featured in the July 1930 edition of ‘Popular Mechanics’: (6)
As Wells Fargo’s website explains:
‘While today’s busy customers often conduct their banking on the go with their mobile devices, in the past they drove their cars to the nearest motor bank. Introduced in the 1930s, motor banks (also called drive-in and drive-thru banks) were the banking solution to changing and increasingly fast-paced lifestyles, allowing people to bank from the comfort of their vehicles. As the nation’s first drive-in theaters and curbside-service restaurants also opened, people started to anticipate a world in which they would never have to leave their cars.
At the time, motor banking didn’t just offer convenience, it meant security. The rise of gang violence led to many high-profile bank robberies by infamous names like John Dillinger, “Baby Face” Nelson, and “Machine Gun Kelly.” People planning to make big deposits wanted an alternative to walking on the street and waiting in lines and crowds. The motor bank offered them the quick, safe service they needed.
While an innovation in the 1930s, the motor bank had become a part of the landscape in most towns by the end of World War II. Veterans returned to marry and start families in growing suburban communities with spacious yards, swimming pools, and modern home appliances. They bought cars to get from their new homes to work and shopping centers. Financed through bank loans, the number of cars in the U.S. doubled to 50 million between 1945 and 1955. More cars meant more traffic, and free parking became a standard offering for customers. More and more banks installed drive-in windows with dedicated tellers so customers could do their banking without leaving — or parking — their cars.’ (7)
Thus, we can see that Sax certainly did not invent drive-through banking and merely implemented it nearly twenty years after it had been invented in his own bank!
So, no drive-through banking is not a ‘jewish invention’.
References
(1) https://aish.com/91795029/
(2) https://web.archive.org/web/20110518144924/http://www.horatioalger.com/member_info.cfm?memberid=sax65
(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_D._Sax
(4) https://www.hagerty.com/media/automotive-history/the-first-drive-thru-banking-window-was-introduced-75-years-ago-or-was-it/
(5) Idem.
(6) Popular Mechanics, July 1930, p. 13
(7) https://history.wf.com/keeping-pace-with-changing-lives-on-the-road-and-in-the-air/
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