This is the portrait of a world on the eve of its destruction. Bernard Wasserstein presents a disturbing interpretation of the collapse of European Jewish civilization even before the Nazi onslaught and World War Two.
In this revisionist account of modern European Jewry, Wasserstein shows how the harsh realities of the age devastated the lives of communities and individuals. By 1939, the Jews faced an existential crisis that was as much the result of internal decay as of external attack.
Ranging from Vilna ('Jerusalem of Lithuania') to Salonica with its Judeo-Español-speaking stevedores and singers, and beyond, the book's focus is squarely on the Jews themselves rather than their persecutors.
Wasserstein's aim is to 'breathe life into dry bones.' Based on vast research, written with compassion and empathy, and enlivened by dry wit, On the Eve paints a vivid and shocking picture of the European Jews in their final hour.
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eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Glossary
- Introduction
- 1. The Melting Glacier
- 2. The Christian Problem
- 3. Grandees And Grandstanders
- 4. From Shtetl To Shtot
- 5. New Jerusalems
- 6. Holy Men
- 7. Unholy Women
- 8. Luftmenshn
- 9. Non-Jewish Jews
- 10. The Linguistic Matrix
- 11. The Power Of The Word
- 12. A People Of Many Books
- 13. Masques Of Modernity
- 14. Youth
- 15. Utopias
- 16. In The Cage, Trying To Get Out
- 17. Camping
- 18. On The Eve
- 19. Existential Crisis
- Epilogue: Fates Known And Unknown
- Notes
- Sources
- Acknowledgments
- Illustration Credits
- Index
- Plates
- Footnote
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Yes, you can access On The Eve by Bernard Wasserstein in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & European History. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.