Theodor Herzl: From Europe to Zion

Mark H. Gelber, Vivian Liska, Mark H. Gelber, Vivian Liska

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9783484651678
• eBook ISBN: 9783110936056
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Jewish History
• Index: History

In 2004 the one-hundredth anniversary of Theodor Herzl's death was commemorated throughout the world. The myth of Herzl, as it has developed over the last century, has perhaps become more important than the historical figure. This volume contains revised and expanded essays, which were originally delivered as lectures at international Herzl centennial conferences in Antwerp, London, and Jerusalem. Topics treated include the Herzl myth, Herzl's nationalism and Zionism, his self-understanding and image, his authorship of comedies and philosophical tales, Herzl and Africa, as well as his reception in Israeli and other literature. Zweig films are also considered within this same context.

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Theodor Herzl: Between Myth and Messianism
• Herzl’s Nationalism: Is it Ethnic or Civic?
• Theodor Herzl: Zionism as Personal Liberation
• Leaders 1904. Masaryk – Herzl – Kafka
• Re-Imagining Herzl and other Zionist Sex Symbols
• A Villa in the Jungle: Herzl, Zionist Culture, and the Great African Adventure
• »Dieses schlicht verschwiegene Bekenntnis«. Gustav G. Cohen, ein unbekannter Freund Theodor Herzls
• Transfiguration of the Self in Herzl’s Life and in his Fiction
• Theodor Herzl and the Crisis of Jewish Self-Understanding
• »What Will People Say?« Herzl as Author of Comedies
• A Vision out of Sight. Theodor Herzl’s Late Philosophical Tales
• The Life and Death of Herzl in Jewish Consciousness: Genre Issues and Mythic Perspectives
• Der Wandernde Jude - Herzl und der Zionismus auf der Leinwand
• Making Use of Prose: The Politics of Genre in Theodor Herzl and H. N. Bialik
• Mythic Figure or Flesh and Blood? The Literary Reception of Herzl in Hebrew Poetry and in Nathan Bistritzki’s »The Secret of Birth«
• »Mein Kampf«: George Tabori’s Subversive Herzl Variation
• List of Contributors
• Index