History and Politics

Abstract

From the eighth to the fifteenth century, the Iberian peninsula was a locus of encounter without parallel in the history of the world. Only in Spain did Moors, Jews, and Christians live together relatively peaceably for almost a thousand years. Their cultural achievements were without peer in the rest of Europe and had a major and lasting influence on the Renaissance. After the Jews were driven out of Spain in 1492, they made a crucial cultural and economic contribution to their new homes (Amsterdam, Hamburg, Saloniki, etc.). In Spain itself, the history of the Jewish presence there was forgotten. Only in the nineteenth century was there a gradual rediscovery of these covert cultural traditions, which now are officially recognized as part of the national heritage. The articles assembled here provide an in-depth review of the past and present history of the relations between Spain and the Sephardim. (German)

In his "Apologia for the Oppressed Jewish Population in Germany" submitted anonymously to the Rastatt Congress in 1798 as food for thought, [Andreas Riem] (1749-1814) -- unlike the majority of German Jacobins -- represents a consistently rationalist/natural-law position. Equality for the Jews is seen as the acid test for the realization of democracy. This new edition supplements the text with an extract on the Batavian Republic taken from Riem's "Journey through Holland in the Years 1796 and 1979" and the translation of an address by Georg Hahn on "complete equality for Jews with other citizens." An introduction by Jacobin specialist [Walter Grab] (Tel-Aviv) provides information on the life and work of the committed democrat Andreas Riem. (German)

History and Politics

Apologie für die unterdrückte Judenschaft in Deutschland: Mit einter Einleitung zu Leben und Werk des Autors von Walter Grab, by Andreas Riem. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1999. 90 pp. ISBN 3-484-65125-3.

In his "Apologia for the Oppressed Jewish Population in Germany" submitted anonymously to the Rastatt Congress in 1798 as food for thought, Andreas Riem (1749-1814) -- unlike the majority of German Jacobins -- represents a consistently rationalist/natural-law position. Equality for the Jews is seen as the acid test for the realization of democracy. This new edition supplements the text with an extract on the Batavian Republic taken from Riem's "Journey through Holland in the Years 1796 and 1979" and the translation of an address by Georg Hahn on "complete equality for Jews with other citizens." An introduction by Jacobin specialist Walter Grab (Tel-Aviv) provides information on the life and work of the committed democrat Andreas Riem. (German)

England's Jewish Solution: Experiment and Expulsion, 1262-1290, by Robin R. Mundill. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 360 pp. ISBN 0-521-58150-8.

This book examines the Jewish community in England from 1262 to 1290, during the reign of Edward I. Commencing with a survey of the historiography and heritage of medieval Anglo-Jewry, the book analyzes the Jews' financial value to the Crown and indicates that after 1275 some may have diversified into commodity broking. A further chapter examines the varying fortunes of seven provincial communities, which is followed by a study of debtors to Jews, showing the wider impact of Jewish lending. Finally, the reasons behind one of the first European expulsions of the Jews are considered in depth.

The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain, by Haim Beinart. Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2000. 656 pp. n.p.l. ISBN 1-874774-41-2.

This book focuses on the practical consequences of the expulsion both for those expelled and those remaining behind. Haim Beinart addresses questions such as: What became of property owned by Jewish individuals and communities? What became of outstanding debts between Jews and Christians? How was the edict of expulsion implemented? Who was in charge? How did they operate? What happened to those who converted to Christianity in order to remain in Spain or return to that country? Beinart presents a wealth of detail that removes history from the abstract and provides a reminder that events were driven by decision made by human beings.

The History of the Jews in the Netherlands, edited by J. C. H. Blom, Renate G. Fuks-Mansfeld, and I. Schöffer. Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1999. 450 pp. ISBN 1-874774-51-X.

From the first Jewish settlements in the medieval duchies of Gelderland, Brabant, and Limburg to the flourishing Jewish communities of today, the interaction between Dutch Jews and Dutch Christians has been one of continuous and fruitful collaboration, excepting only the period of Nazi occupation. The ten scholars contributing to this book each describe a particular period from the Middle Ages to the present. The focus throughout is on the activity of the Jewish minority.

Jüdisches Theater in Berlin: Ansätze zu einer Geschichte des jüdischen und deutsch-jüdischen Theaters (1890-1936), by Heidelore Riss. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1999. 296 pp. ISBN 3-484-65126-1.

Visiting performances by the Wilnaer Truppe and Habima were accompanied by unprecedented media interest. But unbeknownst to the broad public, theatre groups from Eastern Europe had made appearances in Berlin before the First World War. They found an audience wherever a major eastern Jewish contingent had established itself. In the 1920s Berlin experienced the contemporaneous coexistence of the most various kinds of Jewish theatre. A professional Yiddish Operetta Theatre played alongside Yiddish amateur and society groups. Projects for theatre in Hebrew took shape in the Zionist environment, and attempts were made to found a purely German-speaking Jewish literary theatre. (German)

Reluctant Cosmopolitans: The Portuguese dews of Seventeenth-Century Amsterdam, by Daniel M. Swetschinski. Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1999. 325 pp. ISBN 1-874774-46-3.

In the seventeenth century Amsterdam took in several thousand descendants of Iberian Jews who had been forcibly baptized in the fifteenth century. Shortly after their initial settlement, these mostly "Portuguese" New Christians chose to manifest themselves as Jews again, and the Amsterdam authorities put no obstacles in their way. The community studied in this book was the first modern community in which the secular world coexisted relatively harmoniously with traditional Judaism.

Spanien und die Sepharden: Geschichte, Kultur, Literatur, edited by Norbert Rehrmann and Andreas Koechert. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1999. 235 pp. ISBN 3-484-57003-2.

From the eighth to the fifteenth century, the Iberian peninsula was a locus of encounter without parallel in the history of the world. Only in Spain did Moors, Jews, and Christians live together relatively peaceably for almost a thousand years. Their cultural achievements were without peer in the rest of Europe and had a major and lasting influence on the Renaissance. After the Jews were driven out of Spain in 1492, they made a crucial cultural and economic contribution to their new homes (Amsterdam, Hamburg, Saloniki, etc.). In Spain itself, the history of the Jewish presence there was forgotten. Only in the nineteenth century was there a gradual rediscovery of these covert cultural traditions, which now are officially recognized as part of the national heritage. The articles assembled here provide an in-depth review of the past and present history of the relations between Spain and the Sephardim. (German)

Swiss Banks and Jewish Souls, by Gregg J. Rickman. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1999. 287 pp. ISBN 1-56000-426-6.

With the release of historically damaging documents, in the world's eyes Switzerland has become a nation of greedy bankers, collaborators with the Nazis, and robbers of the wealth of the victims of the Holocaust. This book covers the scandal from an insider's perspective.