When a ferroelectric body attached to one end of a springy rod is switched with an alternating electric field, it oscillates with the frequency of the applied field. This effect was originally reported by Zheludew and he proposed that it might originate in a manner formally analogous to the classical magnetomechanical experiments of Einstein and de Haas. It is shown here as a result of a theoretical and experimental investigation that this is not the case, but that the oscillations are caused by a shearing of the crystal due to a polarization‐induced strain.