Memory and Modern Jewish History in Contemporary Germany

16 SHOFAR Summer 1997 Vol. 15, No.4 Memory and Modern Jewish History in Contemporary Germany Tobias Brinkmann Tobias Brinkmann has studied history, political science, and philosophy at the University of MUnster, the Free University Berlin, Indiana University at Bloomington, and the Technical University Berlin. He is currently completing a dissertation at the Technical University Berlin entitled: "Quest for Community-'German Jews' in Chicago 1840-1918: Religious and Social Life and Ethnic Group Formation." Brinkmann's most recent articles include "Bilder und Zeugnisse deutscher Geschichte" and "The American-Jewish Quest for Community: 'Ethnic History' in the 1990s." Tobias Brinkmann has recently been a fellow at a Deutsche-Forschungs-Gemeinschaft-Graduiertenkolleg, the Newberry Library, and the American Jewish Archives. He has also been a German Marshall Fund research fellow. Introduction In Germany Jewish Studies as an academic program in the American sense does not yet exist. The sole exception is the Hochschule fur jiidische Studien in Heidelberg.I After 1945 Judaistik emerged as a new discipline in Germany. Small Judaistik departments were founded at all major universities. The scholars in this field focus on the origins of Judaism, the development of the Hebrew language, and on philosophical and theological issues. Modem Jewish history, however, has remained largely outside ofthe scope ofJudaistik and has only recently become a "field" at German history departments . The study of Judaism and Jewish history in Germany cannot be separated from the Holocaust. The systematic murder ofJews in the German name destroyed the GermanJewish symbiosis. Although Jewish life in Germany did reemerge on a small scale after 1945, it is overshadowed by the Holocaust. A recent essay collection on German-Jewish history is titled appropriately "Broken History."2 This brief essay will deal with the genesis and the development of this particular field against the background of a wider interest in Jewish history and culture in Germany: the approach will be more lIn 1996 the Universitat-Gesamthochschule Duisburg established a Jewish Studies Program under the direction of the Judaistik-Professor Michael Brocke. It is, however, too early to make any comments on the success of the program. Compare: http://stil.uni-duisburg.de/stiallg.html. 2Zerbrochene Geschichte: Leben und Selbstverstiindnis der Juden in Deutschland, edited by Dirk Blasius and Dan Diner (Frankfurt, 1991). Memory and Modern Jewish History in Contemporary Germany 17 informative than analytical. As I will try to show, this interest is closely linked with a broad confrontation with National Socialism in general and the Holocaust in particular. Instead of national public ceremonies or traditional memorials the memory of the victims ofthe Holocaust has shifted to new forms, and it has become increasingly local. The Attraction of Jewish History and Culture in Germany In 1994 a new "Jewish Studies" program was launched at Potsdam University (the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European Jewish Studies) that lacks important aspects ofcomparable programs in the United States. Students can apparently graduate with an M.A. degree without ever learning Hebrew or studying early and medieval Jewish history seriously.3 There has been a lot of controversy around the launching of this particular program and its concept among academics, especially by the established Judaistik scholars.4 A visit to the Internet homepage of the Moses Mendelssohn Center offers the possibility of assessing the intentions of its makers. The list of dissertations that are in progress at the center indicates two large fields ofresearch: European Jewish History from the eighteenth to the· twentieth century and cultural history, including literary topics.sThe classical approach ofJudaistik does not playa role. The Mendelssohn Center is obviously a center for Modem Jewish History, Literature, and Culture. Is this center just a mirror ofthe current attraction ofJewish history and culture, or will it establish itself in the academic community by producing solid and impressive scholarly works? It is too early to arrive at conclusions, and it remains to be seen if the energetic public relations activities ofthe center are not obscuring the lack of academic achievements. While the Heidelberg Hochschule has maintained a serious international reputation for many years, the establishment ofthe Potsdam program occurred at a different time. One crucial aspect regarding the context of this particular program has never been controversial: Since the early...