Germans, Jews, and Poles

The fact that Jewish life re-emerged in Frankfurt am Main after 1945 and that a new Jewish community could be permanently established there was largely because Holocaust survivors, many of them from Poland, were stranded in the American occupation zone of Germany, of which Frankfurt was the centre. Here, one of the largest camps for Jewish displaced persons was established, where an impressive diversity of Jewish life and culture emerged for a few years. Even after emigration to America and Israel became possible in 1948, some displaced persons remained in Germany. This chapter traces how differences between German and east European Jews, the persistent antisemitic attitude of the Germans, and generational conflicts within the Jewish community itself shaped the—ultimately successful—new beginnings of Jewish life in Frankfurt

Ancient history · Archaeology · Judaism · European history and politics · History · Philosophy · Religious studies