Germans, Jews, and antisemites
Subtitle: trials in emancipation
By: Shulamit Volkov.
Publisher: Cambridge Univeristy Press
Published: 2005
Place of publication: Cambridge; N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
Subjects: Antisemitism -- Germany -- History -- 20th century; Jews -- Germany -- Social conditions -- 20th century; Jews -- Germany -- Identity; Jews -- Cultural  assimilation -- Germany; Germany -- Ethnic relations; Jews -- Germany -- History -- 1789-1945
Description: The ferocity of the anti-semitic Nazi attack upon the Jews took many by surprise. This book tries to explain why. The history of the Jews in modern Germany is usually told as the tale of outstanding individuals, completely immersed in German society and disproportionately contributing to its culture. This book focuses, however, on the story of "ordinary" German Jews, concerned not merely with being like other Germans, i.e. "assimilated," but with upward social climbing and achievements as well. Although they did not seek to abandon Judaism, they tried to reformulate and reinvent it to fit their newly upgraded status. Thus, despite continuous antisemitism, Germany "seemed" to accept the Jews on these terms until World War II.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: 1. Views from East and West; title: 2. On self-hatred and self-criticism; title: 3. Past shadows, present needs; title: 4. Antisemitism old and new; title: 5. Function and meaning; title: 6. Norms and codes; title: 7. Comparing Germany with the French Republic; title: 8. On minorities in the nation state; title: 9. Climbing up the social ladder; title: 10. Paradoxes of becoming alike; title: 11. Jewish success in science; title: 12. On the ambivalence of bildung; title: 13. Forces of dissimilation.