German Jews and the Persistence of Jewish Identity in Conversion: Writing the Jewish Self

Angela Kuttner Botelho

Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2021

German Jews and the Persistence of Jewish Identity in Conversion

Writing the Jewish Self

Angela Kuttner Botelho

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110731965

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book explores the fraught aftermath of the German Jewish conversionary experience through the story of one family as it grapples with the meaning of its Jewish origins in a post-Holocaust, post-conversionary milieu. Utilizing archival family texts and multiple interviews spanning three generations, beginning with the author’s German Jewish parents, 1940s refugees, and engaging the insights of contemporary scholars, the book traces the impact of a contested Jewish identity on the deconstruction and reconstruction of the Jewish self. The Holocaust as post-memory and the impact of the German Jewish culture personified by the author’s parents leads to a retrieval of a lost Jewish identity, postmodern in its implications, reinforcing the concept of Judaism as ultimately a family affair. Focusing on the personal to illuminate a complex historical phenomenon, this book proposes a new cultural history that challenges conventional boundaries of what is Jewish and what is not.

Author / Editor information

Angela Kuttner Botelho, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, USA.

Reviews

"The book is fascinating and important, focusing on a very seldom analyzed question: What forms of Jewishness – identification, affiliation, historical interest, religious practice – persist among Jews who convert to Christianity, and among their descendants? [...] Without making claims to explaining the phenomenon of the persistence of Jewishness in conversion as a general topic, the book presents a stunning range of responses to the question at hand."

Naomi Seidman, Chancellor Jackman Professor in the Arts, University of Toronto.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Family Cast of Characters Publicly Available Download PDF	XI
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	XIII
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	XV
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I
My Very Own Converts: A Diptych Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
1 A Mother’s Tale Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	18
2 My Father: In Search Of The Hidden Jew Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
Part II
Resonances Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
3 Sibling Stories Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
4 The Third Generation: Points of Light Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	99
Appendix I. Eva Kuttner’s “Sort of Autobiography” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
Appendix II. The Outermost Edges Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	110
Appendix III. Selected Family Photographs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	118
Index of Persons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
Front Matter 2 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	131
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
Family Cast of Characters Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
Contents Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
Part I
My Very Own Converts: A Diptych Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
1 A Mother’s Tale Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	164
2 My Father: In Search Of The Hidden Jew Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	179
Part II
Resonances Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
3 Sibling Stories Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
4 The Third Generation: Points of Light Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	242
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
Appendix I. Eva Kuttner’s “Sort of Autobiography” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
Appendix II. The Outermost Edges Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	256
Appendix III. Selected Family Photographs Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	264
Index of Persons Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Audience: Scholars with a focus on German Jewry; Holocaust Studies; Transnational Studies; Jewish-Christian Relations
Pages
- Front matter: 14
- Main content: 130
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 13
Keywords: German Jews; Holocaust; Jewish identity; conversion; memory; narrativity

eBook

Published: August 23, 2021
ISBN: 9783110731965

Hardcover

Published: August 23, 2021
ISBN: 9783110737226

Paperback

Published: May 8, 2023
ISBN: 9783111270753