Resurgence of Jewish Life in Germany

(Hardback)

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As early as the first century of the common era, Jews followed the Romans to live on German territory. For two thousand years Jews and the local population co-existed. This relationship has been turbulent at times but has occasionally been a model of multicultural synergism. Together the two groups have produced a unique and rich culture. Germany's Jewish Community, with thriving congregations, schools, publications, and museums, has been the world's fastest growing group. This work focuses on the present while addressing the underlying question of the future for Jews in Germany. Seventy people were interviewed for this book to establish what kind of relationships are being established across the Jewish / Non-Jewish border. The interviewees represent three generations and all walks of life. This text depicts their legacies, fears, and hopes in their own words. Existing German societal conditions are evaluated for possible future creativity and synergy.

Reviews

"Few issues are more deeply troubling to Jews today than the nature of their relationship with contemporary Germans. Herself a refugee from Hitler's Germany, Dr. Charlotte Kahn presents an exquisitely sensitive portrait of the struggles faced by Jews and Germans as they forge a relationship rooted in their rememberance of the horrors of the Holocaust. This book offers hope and inspiration, even as it carefully delineates all the complexities of the post-war relationship between victims and perpetrators, their children and their grandchildren."-Dr. Susannah Heschel Eli Black Associate Professor of Jewish Studies Dartmouth College
"It is an excellent, captivating piece- seen from a literary angle as well as from a scientific point of view. Every line documents that the book is written by somebody who is used to analyzing facts and feelings. I am sure that American readers will share this opinion."-Peter Sartorius Journalist
"Rarely in history do we see a case of mutual unrequited longing as poignant as that of some Jews to be accepted once again by Germany and that of some Germans to be forgiven by Jews. Charlotte Kahn, through dogged interviewing of Jews living in Germany and their German neighbors, has uncovered a phenomenon that defies the cold logic of ethnic self-interest. Even though the Jews who want to be integrated into German society and the Germans who want to make them feel welcome have yet to dismantle the social, linguistic, and historical barriers that stand in their way, their passion and idealism give us hope for the future."-Judith Shulevitz
"60 years after the Holocaust, Germany now has the fastest-growing Jewish community worldwide. Charlotte Kahn was born in Germany at a time when the German-Jewish symbiosis that had flourished since the Enlightenment was being destroyed by the Nazis. Taking a critical yet sympathetic view, she asks why Jews are again making their home in Germany and ponders whether 'Jews in Germany' can ever again become 'Jewish Germans'."-Werner Schmidt Consul German Consulate General, New York
[A] thoughtful volume on an interesting subject....Psychoanalytically informed sociologists, historians, interdisciplinary doctoral students, and other scholars will find Kahn's book to be an especially good resource for further idea generation.-The Psychoanalytic Review
[Resurgence offers a fascinating window on the perceptions and relationships between middle-class, educated and urban Gentiles and Jews in Germany today. Kahn's optimistic findings are part of a debate that will undoubtedly continue for a long time to come.-German Studies Review
This book makes for interesting reading and is certainly a welcome addition to the literature on Jewish life in Germany today. It should appeal to sociologists or other individuals studying contemporary German Jewry. It should also interest lay readers looking to learn more about Jewish life in today's Germany.-H-German
"A thoughtful volume on an interesting subject....Psychoanalytically informed sociologists, historians, interdisciplinary doctoral students, and other scholars will find Kahn's book to be an especially good resource for further idea generation."-The Psychoanalytic Review
"Resurgence offers a fascinating window on the perceptions and relationships between middle-class, educated and urban Gentiles and Jews in Germany today. Kahn's optimistic findings are part of a debate that will undoubtedly continue for a long time to come."-German Studies Review
"[Resurgence offers a fascinating window on the perceptions and relationships between middle-class, educated and urban Gentiles and Jews in Germany today. Kahn's optimistic findings are part of a debate that will undoubtedly continue for a long time to come."-German Studies Review
"[A] thoughtful volume on an interesting subject....Psychoanalytically informed sociologists, historians, interdisciplinary doctoral students, and other scholars will find Kahn's book to be an especially good resource for further idea generation."-The Psychoanalytic Review
"This book makes for interesting reading and is certainly a welcome addition to the literature on Jewish life in Germany today. It should appeal to sociologists or other individuals studying contemporary German Jewry. It should also interest lay readers looking to learn more about Jewish life in today's Germany."-H-German

Author Bio

CHARLOTTE KAHN , Ed.D, is a psychoanalyst and family therapist in private practice. She has held tenured college and university faculty appointments and taught at post-graduate psychoanalytic training institutes. She has appeared on radio and television in connection with her family therapy work.