American Jewry and the Re-Invention of the East European Jewish Past

Markus Krah

Book

American Jewry and the Re-Invention of the East European Jewish Past

Markus Krah

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2018

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Explore this Subject How to publish with us

This book is in the series

Volume 9 | New Perspectives on Modern Jewish History

About this book

Jordan Schnitzer Book Awards Finalist!

The postwar decades were not the “golden era” in which American Jews easily partook in the religious revival, liberal consensus, and suburban middle-class comfort. Rather it was a period marked by restlessness and insecurity born of the shock about the Holocaust and of the unprecedented opportunities in American society. American Jews responded to loss and opportunity by obsessively engaging with the East European past. The proliferation of religious texts on traditional spirituality, translations of Yiddish literature, historical essays , photographs and documents of shtetl culture, theatrical and musical events, culminating in the Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, illustrate the grip of this past on post-1945 American Jews. This study shows how American Jews reimagined their East European past to make it usable for their American present. By rewriting their East European history, they created a repertoire of images, stories, and ideas that have shaped American Jewry to this day.

Author / Editor information

Markus Krah, School of Jewish Theology, University of Potsdam.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Illustrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	VIII
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	XI
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
1. The Search for New Modes of Jewishness in Postwar America Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	21
2. Launching a Discourse: YIVO’s Bridge From the Old World to the New Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	47
3. New (York) Jewish Intellectuals: The Past as Culture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	71
4. Religious Culture as an Antidote to Liberal Judaism and Secular Jewishness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	96
5. Spiritual Needs, the Past, and the Denominational Landscape Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	119
6. From East European Radicalism to Postwar American Progressivism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	144
7. Presenting a Rich Jewish Culture: The Eternal Light and Life Is with People Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	167
8. Making Jewishness Meaningful: In School and in Hasidism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	189
9. Tevye in Kasrilevke, the Fiddler in America: East European Jewishness in Literature Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	212
10. Conclusion: Re-Inventing Jewishness Out of Memory Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	241
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	261
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	285

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

November 20, 2017

eBook ISBN:

9783110499438

Hardcover published on:

November 20, 2017

Hardcover ISBN:

9783110499926

Paperback published on:

July 8, 2019

Paperback ISBN:

9783110655841

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

14

Main content:

290

Illustrations:

30

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110499438

eBook ISBN: 9783110499438

Hardcover ISBN: 9783110499926

Paperback ISBN: 9783110655841

Keywords for this book

Amerikanisches Judentum; Osteuropäisches Judentum

Audience(s) for this book

Scholars interested in American-Jewish and East European Jewish History.

Safety & product resources

Manufacturer information:
Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin
productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

American Jewry and the Re-Invention of the East European Jewish Past

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

Bibliographic data