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The ferocity of the Nazi attack upon the Jews took many by surprise. Volkov argues that a new look at both the nature of antisemitism and at the complexity of modern Jewish life in Germany is required in order to provide an explanation. While antisemitism had a number of functions in pre-Nazi German society, it most particularly served as a cultural code, a sign of belonging to a particular political and cultural milieu. Surprisingly, it only had a limited effect on the lives of the Jews themselves. By the end of the nineteenth century, their integration was well advanced. Many of them enjoyed prosperity, prestige, and the pleasures of metropolitan life. This book stresses the dialectical nature of assimilation, the lead of the Jews in the processes of modernization, and, finally, their continuous efforts to 'invent' a modern Judaism that would fit their new social and cultural position.
What can Jewish history tell us about German history? How can we understand the history of modern Germany from a Jewish perspective? And how do we bring the voices of German Jews to the fore? Germany through Jewish Eyes explores the dramatic course of German history, from the Enlightenment, through wars and revolutions, unification and reunification, Nazi dictatorship, Holocaust, and the rebuilding of a prosperous, modern democracy - all from a Jewish perspective. Through a series of chronologically ordered life-stories, Shulamit Volkov examines how the lived experience of German Jewry can provide new insights into familiar events and long-term developments. Her study explores the plurality of the Jewish gaze, considering how German Jews sought full equality and integration while attempting to preserve a unique identity, and how they experienced security and integration as well as pronounced hatred. Volkov's innovative study offers readers the opportunity to look again at the pivotal moments of German history with a fresh understanding.
This deeply informed biography of Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) tells of a man who—both thoroughly German and unabashedly Jewish—rose to leadership in the German War-Ministry Department during the First World War, and later to the exalted position of foreign minister in the early days of the Weimar Republic. His achievement was unprecedented—no Jew in Germany had ever attained such high political rank. But Rathenau's success was marked by tragedy: within months he was assassinated by right-wing extremists seeking to destroy the newly formed Republic. Drawing on Rathenau's papers and on a depth of knowledge of both modern German and German-Jewish history, Shulamit Volkov creates a finely drawn portrait of this complex man who struggled with his Jewish identity yet treasured his “otherness.” Volkov also places Rathenau in the dual context of Imperial and Weimar Germany and of Berlin's financial and intellectual elite. Above all, she illuminates the complex social and psychological milieu of German Jewry in the period before Hitler's rise to power.
This deeply informed biography of Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) tells of a man who--both thoroughly German and unabashedly Jewish--rose to leadership in the German War-Ministry Department during the First World War, and later to the exalted position of foreign minister in the early days of the Weimar Republic. His achievement was unprecedented--no Jew in Germany had ever attained such high political rank. But Rathenau's success was marked by tragedy: within months he was assassinated by right-wing extremists seeking to destroy the newly formed Republic.Drawing on Rathenau's papers and on a depth of knowledge of both modern German and German-Jewish history, Shulamit Volkov creates a finely drawn portrait of this complex man who struggled with his Jewish identity yet treasured his "otherness." Volkov also places Rathenau in the dual context of Imperial and Weimar Germany and of Berlin's financial and intellectual elite. Above all, she illuminates the complex social and psychological milieu of German Jewry in the period before Hitler's rise to power.
English summary: This volume discusses and compares alternative approaches of a trans-national historiography from comparative history to histories of Europe, post-colonial studies, and global history. German description: Die Internationalisierung der Geschichtswissenschaft schreitet voran. Zunehmend orientiert sie sich an transnationalen Fragestellungen und globalen Zusammenhangen. Dieser Band zieht eine Zwischenbilanz der aktuellen Entwicklung. Vom historischen Vergleich uber die europaische Geschichte und die Postcolonial Studies bis zu globalgeschichtlichen Perspektiven stellen die Autoren die wichtigsten Konzepte einer transnationalen Historiographie vor. Daneben werden Felder der Gesch...
This collection of original essays by scholars from a diverse range of fields, examines issues of race in a variety of historical and geographical settings, ranging from classical Greece to the contemporary Americas, Europe and Asia. The authors provide an important perspective on race both in its theoretical origins and in its actual appearances while paying close attention to the ways in which the study of race itself has been carried on or ignored by various disciplines.
The authors examine the relationship between the cultural, religious and social situation of German Jews on the one hand and their scientific activities on the other. They discuss the sensitive question of the specificity of the approaches of Jewish scientists and draw attention to the debate concerning the relationship between Judaism and academic research, ranging from the early 19th century theorizing on science and Judaism to 20th century issues, e.g. the controversies on 'Jewish' physics, mathematics etc. in the 1920s and 30s. Contributors: Ute Deichmann, Anthony S. Travis, Moritz Epple, Raphael Falk, Ulrich Charpa, Nurit Kirsch, Yael Hashiloni-Dolev, Aharon Loewenstein, Ruth Sime, Simone Wenkel
What History Tells presents an impressive collection of critical papers from the September 2001 conference "An Historian’s Legacy: George L. Mosse and Recent Research on Fascism, Society, and Culture." This book examines his historiographical legacy first within the context of his own life and the internal development of his work, and secondly by tracing the many ways in which Mosse influenced the subsequent study of contemporary history, European cultural history and modern Jewish history. The contributors include Walter Laqueur, David Sabean, Johann Sommerville, Emilio Gentile, Roger Griffin, Saul Friedländer, Jay Winter, Rudy Koshar, Robert Nye, Janna Bourke, Shulamit Volkov, and Steven E. Aschheim.
A History of Anti-Semitism examines the history, culture and literature of antisemitism from antiquity to the present. With contributions from an international team of scholars, whose essays were specially commissioned for this volume, it covers the long history of antisemitism starting with ancient Greece and Egypt, through the anti-Judaism of early Christianity, and the medieval era in both the Christian and Muslim worlds when Jews were defined as 'outsiders,' especially in Christian Europe. This portrayal often led to violence, notably pogroms that often accompanied Crusades, as well as to libels against Jews. The volume also explores the roles of Luther and the Reformation, the Enlightenment, the debate over Jewish emancipation, Marxism, and the social disruptions after World War 1 that led to the rise of Nazism and genocide. Finally, it considers current issues, including the dissemination of hate on social media and the internet and questions of definition and method.
Challenges the notion that Weimar Jews sought to be invisible or indistinguishable from other Germans by "passing" as non-Jews