The Pity of It All: A History of the Jews in Germany, 1743-1933 |
Buy The Pity of It All: A History of the Jews in Germany, 1743-1933 here, one of 750 Germany History books offered for sale at discount prices here in the history books section at R bookshop. There are currently 71945 history books in our history books section, and over 1,000,000 books listed in our book store. We greatly appreciate your patronage at R bookshop and look forward to offering you a large selection of great books at discount prices now and in the future. Thank you for shopping at R Bookshop!
|
You Are Here: Home > History Books > Germany History > Item 53
 |
The Pity of It All: A History of the Jews in Germany, 1743-1933
|
by Amos Elon
Sales Rank: 205182
|
$20.42
At Amazon
on 6-16-2008.
|
|
|
|
Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 464 pages
Published by: Metropolitan BooksEdition: 1st Edition November 1, 2002
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0805059644
ASIN: B0000AZW7C
From Publishers Weekly
In his great overview, veteran Israeli journalist and historian Elon (a biographer of Herzl and others) writes in a fluid and appealing style, with a talent for capturing the right anecdote or quote. He focuses on individual figures, both well-known ones such as Heine, Marx (both of whom converted to Protestantism) and Herzl, and lesser-knowns such as Ludwig Sonnemann (a newspaper editor who excoriated Bismarck's 1871 annexation of Alsace and Lorraine), Kurt Eisner (head of a short-lived socialist republic in Bavaria in 1919) and Walter Rathenau (the assimilated foreign minister who was assassinated in 1922). Like other historians of German Jewry, Elon points to the leadership of Jews in bringing the Enlightenment to Germany and to their high rate of assimilation and intermarriage (by the 1920s, the intermarriage rate of German Jewry rivaled that of America today). Fortunately, Elon avoids the trap of seeing all of pre-Nazi German-Jewish history as a prelude to the Holocaust or of viewing the "Final Solution" as inevitable. At the end of the 19th century, he argues effectively, "In most other European countries, prejudice and discrimination seemed equally or more prevalent" than in Germany. Elon's book is not without its shortcomings, such as focusing too much on Berlin and neglecting Jews in other cities, as well as rural and poor Jews, eastern European immigrants and women. But given these failings, this study will prove enlightening and enjoyable to those interested in both modern Jewish and modern German history. 47 b&w illus.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
German Jews were among the first in the modern era to attempt to be both Jewish and national simultaneously. Elon author of over half a dozen books on Jewish history argues that this fusion often caused dissonance, which manifested itself in a number of intellectual movements, from radical assimilation to Zionism. Elon re-creates the German Jewish intellectual world through collective biography, whereby individuals are chosen as archetypes to understand the challenges and accomplishments of the entire German Jewish community. Such an approach can be dangerous, relying as it does on those who have left some sort of literary or political remnant. Elon, however, usually avoids this trap by focusing on the public side of German-Jewish life. Indeed, Elon's study charts a similar intellectual pattern to Ritchie Robertson's (The Jewish Question in German Literature, 1749-1939: Emancipation and Its Discontents). Unlike Robertson, who concentrated on its literary and philosophical manifestations, Elon looks at a wider spectrum, including political and economic thought. Perhaps the most interesting chapter is "War Fever," which brings into stark contrast the responses of these various intellectual movements to total war in 1914. This work provides fascinating insight into the Jewish dilemma of coping with modernity. Recommended for most libraries. Frederic Krome, Jacob Rader Marcus Ctr. of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader Reviews
This is one of the finest books I have read in a long time. Believe it or not, I heard about it from a Q and A with the actress Natalie Portman who recommended the book. The writer tells the history of the relationship between the Jewish population and their neighbors and German governnment. It ends in 1933, and points out ways in which the Jews tried to assimilate but were never able to please their government enough. It opened my eyes to 200 years of life before Hitler and how he was a cog in the machinery of the sickness of anti semitism. There are many personal examples of characters, their brilliance and fortitude to always try to "make things work" between them and their government. It is a heartbreaking book but one which should be read for Jews and Christians alike.
Comment | |
(Report this)
Back To Top
|
The Pity of It All: A History of the Jews in Germany, 1743-1933
Available from Amazon
Price: $20.42
Updated on 6-16-2008.
|
NOTICE: All prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.
| We offer The Pity of It All: A History of the Jews in Germany, 1743-1933 and other related Germany History Books here at Rbookshop.com. To view more books about Germany History please use the previous and next buttons near the top of this page.
|
|
Search for books at
