German-Jewish History in Modern Times

Rating:
Summary: Informative
Review: An informative collection of articles about the place of Jews in German society during a period of rapid social and economic change. Excellent chapters by Monika Richarz on demographics, occupational distribution and social structure illuminate distinctively Jewish patterns and contributions within the economy while her chapter on Jewish women detail the extraordinary involvement of Jewish women in medicine and social welfare. Peter Pulzer's chapter on the role of Jews in drafting many of Germany's legal codes is interesting, as is Steven Lowenstein's chapter on Jewish participation in German culture. Personally, however, I believe Lowenstein's attribution of Jewish intellectual and cultural efflorescence during this period to their marginal status in German society, while valid, underrates the important strands of continuity between religious and secular forms of socialization among Jews.