ASHKENAZI (80%) -descended from Jews of eastern Europe: Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary, etc
-spoke a dialect of German called YIDDISH
-thrived for 100s of years becoming financial, academic, medical, and political pillars in their communities
-bore the brunt of the Shoah and were almost completely wiped out
SEPHARDIC (20%) -descended from Jews of Portugal and Spain
-spoke a dialect of Spanish called LADINO
-thrived for 100s of years becoming financial, academic, medical, and political pillars in their communities
-in the 1400s the Catholic Church began the infamous Spanish Inquisition. Anyone suspected of not being Catholic or of being an heretic was "put to the question". The Jews were often the primary targets of Inquisitors.