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Author(s): Valins, Oliver
Date: 1999
Abstract: Using theoretical concepts concerning space, identity and boundaries, this thesis examines a contemporary ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Broughton Park, Manchester (located in the north of England). The thesis discusses how these Jews practise and understand their lives within the context of a (post)modem world. Demographically, the overall population of Anglo-Jewry is declining (by as much as a third in the past forty years), with fears expressed about its future survival. Socially, there are major schisms between the different branches of Judaism, with increasing concerns about a polarisation between religious and secular. These factors provide the background to this thesis, which examines arguably the most extreme and still rapidly growing form of Judaism. The thesis uses a theoretical framework which takes seriously post-positivist understandings of space and identity, in which movement, inter-connections and, in particular, processes of hybridity are recognised. Same and other are never pure. Nonetheless, such theoretical conceptions tend to deny particular people's situated attempts to defend, institutionalise and 'slow down' identities and spaces, which are, I argue, key factors in understanding people's everyday lives. While such stabilisations can be described as reactionary, I suggest that they may also be celebrated (although in complex and ambivalent ways) as resistances to forces of homogeneity. Through the empirical materials collected in Broughton Park, a discussion of the institutionalisation of space detailed in the sacred text of the Talmud, and a reconsideration of post-positivist theories to do with identity and space, the thesis draws upon and extends critiques of hybridity as always a (positive) force of resistance, and boundaries as necessarily reactionary and aligned with powers of domination. Overall, it offers a theoretical and methodological framework with which to interrogate 'geographies of Jewry', taking seriously those calls for 'geographies of religion' to make use of post positivist understandings of space and identity.
Author(s): Scholefield, Lynne
Date: 1999
Abstract: Interpreting culture as symbols, stories, rituals and values, the thesis explores the culture of a Jewish and a Catholic secondary school in a dialogical way. The survey of the literature in Chapter 1 identifies relevant school-based research and locates the chosen case-study schools within the context of the British 'dual system'. Chapter 2 draws on the theoretical and methodological literatures of inter-faith dialogue and ethnography to develop and defend a paradigm for the research defined as open-inclusivist and constructivist. The main body of the thesis (Chapters 3-5), based on field-work undertaken in 1996 and 1997, presents the two schools in parallel with each other. Chapter 3 describes the details of the case studies at 'St. Margaret's' and 'Mount Sinai' and my developing research relationship with each school. In Chapter 4 many different voices from each school are woven into two 'tales' about the schools' cultures. This central chapter has a deliberately narrative style. Chapter 5 amplifies the cultural tales through the analysis of broadly quantitative data gained from an extensive questionnaire administered to a sample of senior students in each school. It is the only place in the thesis where views and values from the two schools are directly compared. The final two chapters widen the horizon of the study. Chapter 6 presents voices which were not part of the original case studies but which relate, in different ways, to the culture of the two schools. Chapter 7, with theoretical ideas about Jewish schools and education, and Catholic schools and education, provides resources for further dialogue about culture within Judaism and Catholicism and for Jewish-Christian dialogue. The thesis ends with some reflections on possible implications of the two cultures for discussions about the common good in education.
Author(s): Lewkowicz, Bea
Date: 1999
Abstract: This study is an ethnographic account of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki and a description and analysis of oral histories gathered during my fieldwork in 1994. The thesis looks at the intersection of history, memory, and identity by analysing how identities and memories are shaped by historical experiences and how identities shape memories of historical experiences. Thessaloniki has undergone tremendous changes in the twentieth century. The demographic, political, and architectural landscape has radically altered. In the context of my thesis, the most relevant changes concern the ethnic and religious composition of Thessaloniki's population, the city's incorporation into the Greek nation-state (1912), the subsequent introduction of nationalism, and the annihilation of 48,000 Salonikan Jews during the Second World War. The thesis explores how these historical changes and 'events' are represented in individual narratives of Jews in Thessaloniki and in the realm of Jewish communal memory, how these historical changes have affected the formulations of Jewish communal and individual identity and memory, and how Jewish memory relates to the general landscape of memory in contemporary Greece. In chapters one and two, I discuss the theoretical framework and methodology of this thesis. Discussions on ethnicity, nationalism, memory, and certain themes of the 'anthropology of Greece' form the theoretical background of this study. The methodology applied consists of ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviewing. Chapter three presents a historical overview of the history of Thessaloniki and its Jewish community, and discusses the position of minorities in contemporary Greece. I describe the current structure and organisation of the community and look at some demographic developments of the Salonikan Jewish population in chapter four. I then proceed to a detailed account of the interviews which constitutes the main part of the thesis. Chapter five deals with the pre-war past, chapters six and seven with the experience of the war, and chapter eight with the post-war period. In chapter nine I look at perception of boundaries and notions of 'us' and 'them' among Salonikan Jews. In the conclusions, I examine the changes of post-war Jewish memorial practices in the context of the changing 'memory-scape' of the city of Thessaloniki.
Author(s): Verschik, Anna
Date: 1999
Abstract: The topic of the present article is the socio-cultural history of Estonian Jews as well as main patterns of their linguistic behavior. This atypical Jewish community definitely deserves more scholarly attention than it has received. It is important to stress that not all Jews living in Estonia today are considered to be Estonian Jews. Only those who were born and/or whose socialization took place in independent Estonia (1918-1940) and their descendants are included in this group. Those who migrated to Estonia after 1940 belong socio-culturally and linguistically to a different community (Russian language and cultural orientation). Estonian Jews are multilingual as a rule (Estonian, Yiddish, Russian, German); however, reasons for their multilingualism differ from those of a traditional Jewish community. In our case these reasons include: small size of the minority, high rate of urbanization, lack of strict orthodoxy, acculturation and modernization. Yiddish dialect spoken in Estonia, or Estonian Yiddish, is highly valued by its speakers. The status of Yiddish among other co-territorial languages is discussed in this paper. Linguistic behavior is based largely on a high degree of linguistic awareness (speakers enjoy their multilingualism). However, the number of Yiddish speakers is constantly decreasing due to certain historical events (Soviet and Nazi occupation of Estonia, abolition of cultural autonomy, Soviet ethnic policy, etc). The possibilities of future developments -a shift to other languages, the emergence of a Yiddish-Estonian-Russian mixed variety, a new multilingualism of Yiddish-speaking immigrants -should all be taken into consideration.
Date: 1999
Date: 1999
Abstract: Editorial:

The articles published here first appeared in 1998 and 1999 in "TRIBÜNE: Zeitschrift zum Verständnis des Judentums", a German-language quarterly journal dedicated to fostering an understanding of Judaism, on the occasion of the 60th year anniversary of Reich Pogrom Night on Nov. 9, 1938. About 500,000 Jews lived in Germany at the onset of Nazi terror. Only 12,000 remained after the liberation of the concentration camps in May 1945.

Survey responses have always estimated the number of Jews living in the Federal Republic of Germany as much too high. While the number of Jews living in Germany remained constant at 30,000 for decades, the respondents of surveys constantly placed this number at between 100,000 and 1,000,000. German Unification itself did little to change the number of Jews in Germany, as there were only about 350 members of the small Jewish communities in the former East Germany. It was first the commencement of Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union beginning in 1990 that served to revive and transform the Jewish community in Germany with its disproportionately top-heavy demographic scale. Almost 100,000 Jews live in Germany today.

For a long time, Jews living in Germany refused to define themselves as 'German Jews,' and insisted instead on their proverbial 'sitting upon packed luggage.' A growing trust in German democracy, connections to the cities in which they live, and the example set by Ignatz Bubis, the late and former president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, who declared himself a 'German citizen of Jewish belief,' lead many to accept Germany as their new home. Unfortunately, ongoing anti-Semitic agitation, as well as the ill-considered and fundamentally exclusionary description of Jews as 'Jewish fellow citizens,' does shake the Jewish community in its new-found trust. This is why, in one of his last interviews with TRIBÜNE, Bubis responded to the condition of acceptance and discrimination with the words, 'Minor disturbances are to be overcome.'
Jewish life in Germany and abroad is accompanied by right-wing extremism and anti-Semitic troublemaking especially on Jewish days of commemoration. Although German society and politics is going to great lengths in coming to terms with the Nazi past, Jewish history, the many-faceted cultural and social developments of Jewish communities in post-war Germany, and even the present situation for Jews living in Germany, remains a book of seven seals. Nevertheless, Jewish life in 'the former land of the perpetrators' is an intimate part of the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, founded more than 50 years ago.

That the judgment of Germany has undergone transformation in spite its Nazi past and the persistence of right-wing extremism in every-day life is the result of the honest efforts of German institutions and the general public in responsibly and thoroughly coming to terms with this past. As Paul Spiegel, the new president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, emphasized in an interview with TRIBÜNE, the most obvious sign of Jewish trust in the Germany is the increasing number of Jews living here, which will soon reach 120,000 with the influx of Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe. Even into the late 1970s, Jews living abroad, especially in Israel, could hardly muster understanding for those choosing to settle in Germany. The address of the former Israeli ambassador to Germany, Avi Primor, at the presentation of the German edition of the present book in November 1999, was an indication of Germany's gradually changing image even in Israel.

Contained in this anthology are poignant essays and articles from renowned authors which characterize Jewish life in Germany after the Holocaust as an aspect of democratic society. At the center of this book are the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust, their wounds and identity problems, as well as yesterday's and today's anti-Semitism. Jewish youth, religion, social work and Eastern European immigrants are also central themes. Finally, a number of exemplary Jewish communities in eastern and western Germany are portrayed.

Our aim is to help non-Jews, not only in Germany, but all around the world, understand the sensitivities and hopes of Jews in Germany at the dawn of the 21st century, more than a half a century after the Holocaust.

We extend our thanks the Public Relations Office of the Federal Republic of Germany (Berlin), as well as the ZEIT-Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius (Hamburg), DaimlerChrysler (Stuttgart) and especially Volkswagen (Wolfsburg), whose generous support made this English translation possible.

Contents
10 Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Words of Greeting
13 Otto R. Romberg/Susanne Urban-Fahr Editorial
15 Avi Primor Preface

I New Beginning After the Shoah
20 Ignatz Bubis He Who Bilds a Home, Intends to Stay
30 Paul Spiegel Soon 120,000 Jews in Germany
34 Gerhard Schröder Fifty Years Central Council
38 Hanno Loewy Unanswered Questions
48 Michael Brenner Epilogue or Preface?
57 Robert Guttmann Without Beginning, Without End

II Past and Present
66 Wolfgang Benz Reactions to the Holocaust
76 Kirsten Serup-Bilfeldt Why Little Ochs Had to Die
81 Heiner Lichtenstein Nazi Trials
89 Ulrich Renz The Right to Citizenship
93 Rainer Erb “Good” and “Bad” Jews
98 Henryk M. Broder The Ignominious Intellectual
102 Alphons Silbermann What Does “Auschwitz” Mean Today

III East and West
110 Andreas Nachama East and West
119 Hanna Struck Jews in Mecklenburg & Pornerania
129 Lothar Mertens Optimistic Expectations
135 Ursula Homann Jews in the State of Hesse
144 Roberto Fabian The Challenge of Inheritance
155 Ludger Heid Jewish Communities in the Ruhr
163 Herzs Krymalowski Developing Potential
171 Christophe Baginski Ignorance or Goodwill?

IV Religion and Social Life
176 Moritz Neumann Secular or Religious Community?
185 Benjamin Bloch Zedaka - Charity and Social Justice
195 Dalia Moneta Displaced People
207 Rachel Heuberger Jewish Youth in Germany
217 Willi Jasper/Bernhard Vogt Integration and Self-Assertion
228 Elena Solomonski Acceptance or Emancipation?

V Culture
240 Leibl Rosenberg Jewish Culture in Germany Today
257 Cilly Kugelmann Jewish Museums in Germany
255 Susanne Urban-Fahr Jewish Press - Jews in the Press
266 Anneliese Rabun Architectural Form and Expression
Date: 1999
Abstract: Editorial:

Die hier veröffentlichten Beiträge erschienen zuerst 1998 und 1999 in 'TRIBÜNE. Zeitschrift zum Verständnis des Judentums' anlässlich des 60. Jahrestages der Reichspogromnacht vom 9. November 1938. Zu Beginn des NS-Terrors hatte mehr als eine halbe Million Juden in Deutschland gelebt. Nach der Befreiung im Mai 1945 waren es noch etwa 12 000.

Die Zahl der in der Bundesrepublik lebenden Juden wurde in Umfragen stets viel zu hoch geschätzt. Statt der konstanten Zahl von 30 000 lagen die Angaben zumeist zwischen Hunderttausenden und Millionen. Auch die deutsche Einheit änderte nichts an der Zahl der Juden in Deutschland, denn in den wenigen jüdischen Gemeinden in der DDR hatte es nur knapp 350 Mitglieder gegeben. Erst die 1990 einsetzende Zuwanderung von Juden aus den Nachfolgestaaten der ehemaligen Sowjetunion belebte und veränderte die überalterte jüdische Gemeinschaft in Deutschland. Heute leben hier etwa 75 000 Juden.

Lange Zeit bezeichneten sich Juden, die in Deutschland lebten, nicht als 'deutsche Juden', sondern beharrten darauf, unverändert auf den berühmten 'gepackten Koffern' zu sitzen. Das gewachsene Vertrauen in die deutsche Demokratie, ihre Verbundenheit mit den Städten, in denen sie leben, sowie das beispielhafte Bekenntnis von Ignatz Bubis, er sei 'deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens', machten Deutschland für viele zu einer neuen Heimat. Nicht selten wird aber leider dieses neu gewachsene Gefühl durch antisemitische Hetze und die unüberlegte, grundsätzlich ausgrenzende Bezeichnung von Juden als 'jüdische Mitbürger' ins Wanken gebracht. Deshalb reagierte Bubis in einem seiner letzten Gespräche mit TRIBÜNE auf den Zustand zwischen Akzeptanz und Diskriminierung mit den Worten ?Erschütterungen sind zu überstehen.

Jüdisches Leben in Deutschland wird hierzulande und im Ausland, besser gesagt: weltweit vor allem zu Gedenktagen, nach rechtsradikalen Ausschreitungen oder antisemitischen Vorfällen registriert. Obwohl es vielfältige Bemühungen gibt, sich in Politik und Gesellschaft mit der NS-Vergangenheit auseinanderzusetzen, blieben und bleiben die jüdische Geschichte, die Entwicklung der Gemeinden sowie die facettenreiche kulturelle und vielschichtige soziale Situation der Nachkriegsjahre, aber auch der Gegenwart ein Buch mit sieben Siegeln. Die Situation der Juden im einstigen "Land der Täter" ist jedoch auch ein Stück Geschichte der vor 50 Jahren gegründeten Bundesrepublik.

Mit kompetenten Beiträgen namhafter Autorinnen und Autoren versuchen wir in diesem Sammelband, das jüdische Leben nach dem Holocaust aufzufächern, das mittlerweile Bestandteil der demokratischen Gesellschaft geworden ist. Es geht um jüdische Überlebende und ihren Wunden, von Identitätsproblemen und Antisemitismus, aber auch um die jüdische Jugend, um Religion und jüdisches soziales Engagement, um osteuropäische Einwanderer - und schließlich werden einige exemplarische Gemeinden in Ost- und Westdeutschland porträtiert.

Wir möchten Nichtjuden in Deutschland wie auch in anderen Ländern helfen, einen Blick auf jüdische Befindlichkeiten und die Hoffnungen der Juden in Deutschland 55 Jahre nach Ende des Holocaust an der Schwelle zum 21. Jahrhundert, zu werfen.

Inhalt:

9 Vorwort
11 Editorial
I Neuanfang nach der Schoah
14 Ignatz Bubis, Erschütterungen sind zu überstehen
25 Hanno Loewy, Jüdische Existez in Deutschland
35 Michael Brenner, Epilog oder Neuanfang
45 Robert Guttmann, Ohne Anfang und ohne Ende

II Vergangenheit und Gegenwart
54 Wolfgang Benz, Reaktionen auf den Holocaust
64 Kirsten Serup-Bilfeldt, Warum der kleine Ochs sterben musste
69 Heiner Lichtenstei,n NS-Prozesse
77 Ulrich Renz, Das Recht auf den Pass
81 Rainer Erb, Klischees über >>gute<< und >>böse<< Juden
86 Henryk M. Broder, Der Vordenker als Wegdenker
90 Alphons Silbermann, Was bedeutet >>Auschwitz<< heute?

III Ost und West
98 Andreas Nachama, Ost und West
108 Hanna Struck, Juden in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
118 Lothar Mertens, Optimistische Erwartungen
124 Ursula Homann, Juden in Hessen
134 Roberto Fabian Ein Erbe als Herausforderung
146 Ludger Heid Jüdische Gemeinden im Ruhrgebiet
154 Herzs Krymalowski Perspektiven entwickeln
162 Christophe Baginski Ignoranz oder Wohlwollen?

IV Religion und Soziales
166 Moritz Neumann Gemeinschaft oder Gemeinde?
176 Benjamin Bloch Zedaka - die Gerechtigkeit
186 Dalia Moneta Displaced People
199 Rachel Heuberger Jüdische Jugend in Deutschland
209 Willi Jasper/Bernhard Vogt Integration und Selbstbehauptung
221 Elena Solomonski Akzeptanz oder Emanzipation?

V Kultur
234 Leibl Rosenberg Jüdische Kultur in Deutschland heute
244 Cilly Kugelmann Jüdische Museen in Deutschland
251 Susanne Urban-Fahr Jüdische Presse - Juden in der Presse
263 Joseph Deih Jüdische Studien in Deutschland
279 Anneliese Rabun Gestaltung und Ausdruck