GERMAN-JEWISH CULTURAL IDENTITY FROM 1900 TO THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR by Elisabeth Albanis ( 9783484651371 )

Item Details

Title:

GERMAN-JEWISH CULTURAL IDENTITY FROM 1900 TO THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MORITZ GOLDSTEIN, JULIUS BAB AND ERNST LISSAUER

By:

Elisabeth Albanis

Format:

Hardback

List price:	£100.00
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ISBN 10:

3484651377

ISBN 13:

9783484651371

Publisher:

DE GRUYTER

Pub. date:

1 January, 2002

Edition:

Reprint 2013

Series:

Conditio Judaica 37

Pages:

318

Description:

This book-series, initiated in 1992, has an interdisciplinary orientation; it comprises research monographs, collections of essays and annotated editions from the 18th century to the present. The term German-Jewish literature refers to the literary work of Jewish authors writing in German to the extent that Jewish aspects can be identified in these. However, the image of Jews among non-Jewish authors, often determined by anti-Semitism, is also a factor in the history of German-Jewish relations as reflected in literature. This series provides an appropriate forum for research into the whole problematic area.

Synopsis:

By illustrating the quintessentially different self-perceptions of three German writers of Jewish background, all born in or around 1880 in Berlin, this book examines a range of German-Jewish identities in a socio-cultural context in Wilhelmine Germany. Moritz Goldstein (1880-1977), the conflict of his dual identity and the interplay between being a German writer and a cultural Zionist is covered first. Particular attention is given to the genesis of his essay 'Deutsch-judischer Parnass' with its call for Jews to vacate their seats in German literary culture. The range of positions unfolding in the debate, following its publication in 'Der Kunstwart' in 1912, serves to illustrate the spectrum of German-Jewish self-definition at the time. In the second part, the writings of Julius Bab (1880-1955) are examined in so far as they shed light on his advocation of a synthesis of 'Deutschtum' and 'Judentum'. The far side of the spectrum of German-Jewish self-definition is represented by Ernst Lissauer (1882-1937), who propagated complete assimilation, considering the Jewish element as an obstacle which had to be overcome on the road to 'Deutschtum'. This study depicts how external cultural and political influences shaped the transformation of their ideas of what it meant to be Jewish in Germany and how they responded to increasing anti-Semitism. By recognising the way in which the individual's cultural identity was constantly refashioned in the face of external challenges, a fuller understanding of the evolving self-perception of German Jews is reached.

US Grade:

College Graduate Student

Publication:

Germany

Imprint:

De Gruyter

Returns:

Non-returnable

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GERMAN-JEWISH CULTURAL IDENTITY FROM 1900 TO THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR