Jewish Family in Germany Today

Bodemann Y. Michal Bodemann

Description

Immediately after the Holocaust, it seemed inconceivable that a Jewish community would rebuild in Germany. What was once unimaginable has now come to pass: Germany is home to one of Europe's most vibrant Jewish communities, and it has the fastest growing Jewish immigrant population of any country in the world outside Israel. By sharing the life stories of members of one Jewish family-the Kalmans-Y. Michal Bodemann provides an intimate look at what it is like to live as a Jew in Germany today. Having survived concentration camps in Poland, four Kalman siblings-three brothers and a sister-were left stranded in Germany after the war. They built new lives and a major enterprise; they each married and had children. Over the past fifteen years Bodemann conducted extensive interviews with the Kalmans, mostly with the survivors' ten children, who were born between 1948 and 1964. In these oral histories, he shares their thoughts on Judaism, work, family, and community. Staying in Germany is not a given; four of the ten cousins live in Israel and the United States.Among the Kalman cousins are an art gallery owner, a body builder, a radio personality, a former chief financial officer of a prominent U.S. bank, and a sculptor. They discuss Zionism, anti-Semitism, what it means to root for the German soccer team, Schindler's List, money, success, marriage and intermarriage, and family history. They reveal their different levels of engagement with Judaism and involvement with local Jewish communities. Kalman is a pseudonym, and their anonymity allows the family members to talk with passion and candor about their relationships and their lives as Jews.

Sujets

• Jewish studies

Informations

• Publié par: Duke University Press
• Date de parution: 03 décembre 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780822385929
• Langue: English

Extrait

y. ฀ m i c h a l ฀ b o d e m a n n

A฀Jewish฀Family฀in฀Germany฀Today

a n ฀ i n t i m at e ฀ p o rt r a i t

a j e w i s h f a m i l y i n g e r m a n y t o d a y

y. michal bodemann

A Jewish Family in Germany Today

an intimate portrait

Duke University Press

Durham & London

2005

2005 Duke University Press

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper$

Designed by C. H. Westmoreland

Typeset in Sabon by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear

on the last printed page of this book.

f o r t h o m a s a n d b e a t e

At times, a breeze blows by,

delighting the heart and the mind. You do not know

what it is or why; it cannot be grasped. Similarly, when

the sefirah of Nothingness is aroused, it radiates and

sparkles and cannot be grasped at all.

—Zohar

Contents

Acknowledgments

xi

introduction Contemporary German Jewish Life through One Family 1

prologue Rita Volkov, Great Aunt in Toronto

37

part 1. albert’s family Berthold and His Father 45 Working in the Kalmans’ Firm 71 Berthold in His Life 79 Eva, Swiss Mentality, Polish Company 91 Ronnie, in and out of His Father’s Shadow 108 Salek, Nordau’s Jew 119 Esther, the Zionist Pioneer in Our Family 132 Gabriel, Postmodern Jew 156

part 2. ignaz and dina Ignaz, Dina’s Father 179 Dina, from Germany to Israel and Back 187 Johannes Rautenstrauch, a Goy in the House 218

part 3. jerry guterman Jerry and the Fossils 233

part 4. jurek’s family Jurek, Benjamin and His Brothers 249 Jonny, a Career in Israel 256 Lilian, Staying at Home 261 Motti, the Sculptor-Rememberer 268

Glossary

279