Social History of German Jews: A Short Introduction

Tracing the social history of modern German Jews from the end of the 18th century up to the aftermath of World War II, Miriam Rürup follows their ascent into the middle and upper middle classes through repeated experiences of setbacks but also of self-assertion. In doing so it is explained how Jewish life changed under the auspices of emancipation and what impact these changes had on the demographic and social profile of the Jewish minority. With a focus on the daily interactions between Jews and other Germans when choosing a home, profession, or school, for example, Social History of German Jews shows the contrasting processes of integration and exclusion in a new light.

Miriam Rürup is a historian and Director of the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies (Potsdam) and Professor for European-Jewish Studies at the University of Potsdam. She is the author of Ehrensache. Jüdische Studentenverbindungen an deutschen Universitäten, 1886-1937 (Göttingen: Wallstein 2008). Together with Simone Lässig she co-edited the volume Space and Spatiality in Modern German-Jewish History (New York: Berghahn 2017).