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Unlikely History

The Changing German-Jewish Symbiosis,1945-2000

  • Book
  • © 2002

Overview

Editors:
  1. Leslie Morris

    1. University of Minnesota, USA

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  2. Jack Zipes

    1. Center for German and European Studies, University of Minnesota, USA

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

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Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
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  2. The Debate

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Encounters Across the Void

      • Karen Remmler
      Pages 3-29

    3. The Rift and Not the Symbiosis

      • Katja Behrens
      Pages 31-45

  3. Social and Historical Background

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 47-47
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    2. The Transformation of the German-Jewish Community

      • Michael Brenner
      Pages 49-61

    3. Home and Displacement in a City of Bordercrossers

      • Atina Grossmann
      Pages 63-99

    4. Jewish Existence in Germany from the Perspective of the Non-Jewish Majority

      • Wolfgang Benz
      Pages 101-117

    5. Austrian Exceptionalism

      • Andrei S. Markovits
      Pages 119-140

    6. Anti-Semitism in East Germany, 1952–1953

      • Mario Kessler
      Pages 141-154

    7. Reading “Between the Lines”

      • Noah Isenberg
      Pages 155-179

  4. Cultural Relations

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 181-181
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    2. The Critical Embracement of Germany

      • Jack Zipes
      Pages 183-201

    3. Return to Germany

      • Pascale R. Bos
      Pages 203-232

    4. The Janus-Faced Jew

      • Anat Feinberg
      Pages 233-250

    5. Fritz Kortner’s Last Illusion

      • Robert Shandley
      Pages 251-261

    6. Comic Vision and “Negative Symbiosis” in Maxim Biller’s Harlem Holocaust and Rafael Seligmann’s Der Musterjude

      • Rita Bashaw
      Pages 263-276

    7. German and Austrian Jewish Women’s Writing at the Millennium

      • Dagmar Lorenz
      Pages 277-290

    8. Postmemory, Postmemoir

      • Leslie Morris
      Pages 291-306

  5. Back Matter

    Pages 307-335
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About this book

In the English-speaking world, it is generally believed that there are very few Jews living and thriving in Germany. Yet, there has been an unlikely postwar history 1945-2001 that has been somewhat repressed in North America and the United Kingdom. While most people are well-informed about the Holocaust and the consequences that this tragic event has had for the world, very few people know that there has been a steady increase in the population of Jews in Germany since 1945 and that there is a flourishing 'Jewish' culture, certainly a relatively strong Jewish presence, in Germany today. Does this development mean that Jews are playing a significant role in German social life? Does this mean that the great German-Jewish relationship, often referred to as a kind of symbiosis, has re-emerged despite the odds against it? The sixteen essays in this book written by the leading critics in the field cover the fascinating changes that have been made in German society since 1945 in the Jewish communities, literature, theater, film, architecture, and other areas of interest including an examination of the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Austria. For anyone interested in reading about the unpredictable transformations in German-Jewish relations since 1945, Unlikely History will provide information and insights into a history that needs to be told to bring about greater understanding of Jews and Germans in contemporary Germany.

Reviews

'...this superlative book focuses on German-Jewish relations since 1945 by considering the idea and expression of symbiosis between German Culture and identity and that of the Jews who write from Germany and in German since the death camps were liberated. And yet, as the editors conclude 'this emphasis on the Holocaust oftern conceals the astonishing transformation of the realtions between Germans and Jews since 1945'. This riveting volume argues that such transformation is more accurately stated as plural, for it is constituted not only as a social and historical phenomenon but also as complex cultural realtions and debates.' - Modernism/Modernity

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of Minnesota, USA

    Leslie Morris

  • Center for German and European Studies, University of Minnesota, USA

    Jack Zipes

About the editors

Jack Zipes is Professor Emeritus of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Minnesota, USA. He is the author, translator, and editor of dozens of studies and collections of folk and fairy tales. His recent books include "Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre,"Relentless Progress: The Reconfiguration of Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Storytelling," and "The Enchanted Screen: The Unknown History of Fairy-Tale Films."

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