Published: 18 June 2018
Last updated: 5 March 2024
A JEWISH PRESENCE in Germany after 1945 seemed anomalous and unimaginable. Most German Jews who had found refuge abroad since 1933 could not contemplate returning. In 1948, the World Jewish Congress declared "the determination of the Jewish people never again to settle on the bloodstained soil of Germany". The herem (excommunication) seemed to spell finis to the 1,000-year history of German Jewry.
Yet, today, Germany boasts the third-largest Jewish community in Europe, with sturdy institutions, rebuilt synagogues and communal centres, and strong government support. Jewish culture life is buoyant. Antisemitism is at a low ebb. German Jewry now finds an accepted place both in Germany society and among world Jewry.
How has this dramatic transformation come about? How substantial is it? What is the relationship between this restored community and the grandeur of German Jewry of yore? These are some of the questions that this book tackles.
There are really four distinct sets of Jews in Germany today.
FULL STORY Review: A History of Jews in Germany since 1945 (Jewish Chronicle)
Photo: Michael Brenner (Leo Baeck Institute)
