I Hid for Days in the Basement
Moments of ‘Jewish’ Discovery in Pre-Holocaust Germany and Austria
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7734149 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Harry Legg (0000-0003-1457-1552, University of Edinburgh, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 347-364 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary European History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0960-7773 • E-ISSN: 1469-2171 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0960777324000262 |
| OpenAlex | W4404084210 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
What happens when someone ignorant of their Jewish heritage uncovers the truth in dramatic circumstances? This article focuses on and advocates for further analysis of an unstudied discrete phenomenon: ‘the moment of discovery’ in early twentieth century Germany and Austria. The article's four empirical sections analyse various facets of this moment: the clues which pointed towards the Jewish ancestral secret, missed by many non-Jewish ‘Jews’; the reaction of antisemites to becoming the object of their own hatred complex; the deep despair felt during the moment of discovery; the mitigatory actions which could ameliorate the latter; and the minority who reacted positively to the news. Collectively, the piece displays the terror associated with being ‘Jewish’ at the time, the extent to which non-Jewish ‘Jews’ were truly separated from the Jewish community and, crucially, the radicalisation of moments of discovery under Nazism, when they became more devastating than ever
Archaeology · Basement · Judaism · The Holocaust · Theology · European history and politics · German History and Society · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
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