Jewish Scholarship and Culture in Nineteenth-Century Germany: Between History and Faith

11. The Jewish Past at the Center of Popular Culture

11 The Jewish Past at the Center of Popular Culture In the 1890s the popularization of Jewish history reached a new level. An article in the Israelitische Wochenschrift from 1892 called the trend toward establishing historical associations “a powerful movement.”1 The Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums proclaimed in 1893 that a Verein für jüdische Geschichte und Literatur (Association for Jewish history and literature ) was founded almost on a weekly basis.2 Approximately 48 local associations existed before the nationwide umbrella organization, the Verband (Union), was formally constituted in Hannover in 1893. By 1900 it had become one of the largest Jewish organizations in Germany, with 12,149 members in 131 local societies.3 Concentrated in the eastern provinces of Prussia, Westphalia, the Rhineland, and Hessen-Nassau, the individual societies together offered at least 2,615 public lectures from 1895 to 1900. In 1900 alone, the Union reported that 1,000 lectures had been given in 150 communities.4 In addition to organizing public talks, some associations offered Hebrew classes, discussion groups, and evening courses in Jewish history.5 The public lectures and discussion groups organized by the associations were well attended.6 Lecturers were in demand and asked for up to 300 marks for their talks, which placed a great financial strain on smaller associations in particular.7 In respect to a lecture by the anthropologist Felix von Luschan, Gustav Karpeles made certain that the lecture hall 124 could hold between 600 to 800 guests.8 An article written on the occasion of the foundation of the fiftieth historical association in 1895 claimed that 500 men and women attended the lectures and 200 participated in the discussion evenings.9 The fact that the article specifically mentions women indicates that these new associations tried to become more inclusive. In contrast, the B’nai B’rith, for example, had decided in 1891—unlike its counterparts in the United Kingdom and the United States—not to accept women. Initially, women were not only banned from joining some of the new associations but also blamed for the alleged religious indifference of modern German Jews.10 Realizing this “indifference” could be overcome only by allowing women to participate in the traditionally maledominated lecture series, the associations for Jewish history and literature slowly invited women to join in the evening discussions. That this victory was achieved against substantial opposition from within the ranks of the associations illustrates the novelty of this step.11 Reflecting these debates, the Henry-Jones Lodge in Hamburg initiated in 1893 the establishment of the Israelitisch-humanitärer Frauenverein (Israelite humanitarian women’s association). This charitable organization that chiefly represented married Jewish women belonging to the middle and upper middle classes and the Hamburg Reform community , organized public lectures in cooperation with the local Zionist group and the local association for Jewish history and literature in an effort to educate women about the Jewish historical heritage.12 A few years later, in 1904, Sidonie Werner and Bertha Pappenheim transformed the role of Jewish women in the public sphere when they founded the Jüdischer Frauenbund (Jewish women’s union). The foundation of the Frauenbund reflected the growing concern on behalf of rabbis, educators, and journalists about the hitherto exclusion of Jewish women from the educational endeavors of the various German Jewish associations. In addition to the traditional social work of women, the Frauenbund offered resistance to anti-Semitism and aimed to bring its educational work into Jewish homes.13 Alongside the more inclusive politics of these fin-de-siècle associations , the Union and individual associations broadened their impact by functioning as publication societies for lectures and the successful periodical , the Jahrbuch für jüdische Geschichte und Literatur (Yearbook for Jewish history and literature).14 The Yearbook, which consisted of reviews of events concerning Jews and Judaism during the past year, literature , and scholarly treatments of the Jewish past, had a print run of The Jewish Past at the Center of Popular Culture 125 5,300 in 1903 and 6,000 in 1904.15 Larger associations even managed to frequently give away copies of their publications to their members.16 Similar to the Institute for the Promotion of Jewish Literature, the history and literature associations declared their neutrality in Jewish religious and political questions and therefore appealed to a broad and diversi fied audience.17 With the exception of the Austrittsorthodoxie (Secessionist orthodoxy...