Previous books about the Jews in Germany have focused almost
exclusively on Hitler's maniac search for a 'Final Solution' and
the resulting Holocaust, but this one ends before those darkest
days of European history. The curtain comes down with the rise of
Nazism - although not before a resurgence of anti-Semitism. The
first question to be asked is, why start the story in 1743? What
was the significance of that year? Even the majority of Jews will
not know the answer to that. But Jewish historian and scholar Amos
Elon sees it as a defining moment in the history of his people. It
was in that year that a crippled Jewish boy limped into the
fortified city of Berlin, then the Prussian capital. He was forced
to enter by a gate that was restricted to cattle and Jews. The boy,
Moses Mendelssohn, grew up to become one of the greatest writers
and philosophers of the European Enlightenment. His writings and
speeches helped break down the anti-Semitism that infected not only
Germany but so much of Europe in the 18th century, and released the
Jewish people to show their prowess in all the arts, in commerce,
science and in common humanity. Elon comes forward in time with a
series of character studies rather than with a detailed social
history of his people. He focuses on well-known figures such as
Heine, Marx and Herzl, as well as lesser-known personalities who
nonetheless played significant parts in Jewish history. Many people
have asked over the years why so many Jews remained in Germany
after Hitler came to power. Why didn't they emigrate when they had
a chance? Elon's answer is simple. The Jews had by then largely
intermingled and intermarried with the Gentile population, and few
of them regarded Nazi ideology as anything other than a passing
aberration. It was a tragic error of judgement. This book is
beautifully written, even-handed and enormously enlightening - a
must for anyone who really wants to know about the many important
roles played by Jews in Europe over nearly 300 years. (Kirkus UK)
The Pity of It All is a passionate and poignant history of German
Jews, tracing the journey of a people and their culture from the
mid eighteenth century to the eve of the Third Reich. As it is
usually told, the story of the Jews in Germany starts at the end,
overshadowed by their tragic demise in Hitler's Reich. Now, in this
important work of historical restoration, the acclaimed historian
and social critic Amos Elon takes us back to the beginning,
chronicling a 150-year period of achievement and integration that
at its peak produced a golden age second only to the Renaissance.
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