Jewish Life in Austria and Germany since 1945.Identity and Communal Reconstruction
Jewish Life in Austria and Germany since 1945. Identity and Communal Reconstruction

Author(s): Suzanne Cohen-Weisz
Subject(s): Jewish studies, Social history, Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Published by: Central European University Press
Keywords: Jews;Germany;Austria;Ethnic Relations;1945-1990;Social conditions;Identity;20th century history;
Summary/Abstract: Based on published primary and secondary materials and oral interviews with some eighty communal and organizational leaders, experts and scholars, this book provides a comparative account of the reconstruction of Jewish communal life in both Germany and Austria after 1945. The author explains the process of reconstruction over the following six decades, and its results in both countries. The monograph focuses on the variety of prevailing perceptions about topics such as: the state of Israel, one’s relationship to the country of residence, the Jewish religion, the aftermath of the Holocaust, and the influx of post-soviet immigrants. Cohen-Weisz examines the changes in Jewish group identity and their impact on the development of communities. The study analyzes the similarities and differences in regard to the political, social, institutional and identity developments within the two countries, and their changing attitudes and relationships with surrounding societies. It seeks to show the evolution of these two countries’ Jewish communities in diverse national political circumstances and varying post-war governmental policies.

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