The Rise and Destiny of the German Jew – By Jacob Marcus, published by UAHC, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1934. First Edition. The first-ever publication about the fate of German Jewry with the rise of Hitler to power and the rise of the Nazi Party, authored by someone who was himself a witness to the anti-Semitic events in Germany during the Nazi Party’s rise to power and the years preceding it. Copy with the original dust jacket. Complete. The front page of the cover includes a dedication: “Sisterhood Prize awarded to Ester Goldin who has completed the work of the High School Department. Temple Beth El Religious School Providence, R.I. June 11, 1939”.
In the introduction to the book, written by Emanuel Gamoran, he discusses the critical time for the Jewish people during which the book was published: “In these days of distress for our people in Germany, the entire Jewish world is concerned about the welfare of this large and important Jewish community. What has happened to the Jews in Germany?… What are the reasons for the virulent anti-Semitic movement in a country as civilized as Germany was considered to be? What role did the Jews of Germany play in the country’s economic, political, social, and cultural development? Have German Jews contributed anything unique from a Jewish cultural perspective? These fundamental questions, among others, are discussed, clarified, and in many cases answered, in the work prepared by Professor Marcus… The tragedy of the Jews in Germany demands action from Jewry. What can world Jewry do about it? Any action must be based on a sharp, objective analysis of the components that make up the situation. Such analysis must be conducted in light of a historical study of the conditions of the Jews in this country. We trust that members of our communities and Jews in America, in general, will devote themselves to studying the very serious problem facing a large part of our people in Germany, whose repercussions have already proven to be far-reaching. Perhaps intelligent thinking on our part may still lead to solving some of the troubling problems before us. Emanuel Gamoran.”
Jacob Marcus, a professor of Jewish history at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, and a renowned Jewish historian, provides a firsthand, bleak picture of the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany shortly after Hitler’s rise to power. He details the initial steps taken by the Nazis in restricting Jews – civil servants, doctors, lawyers, teachers, economic and industrial restrictions, social discrimination, the Hitlerite terror against the Jews since the Nazis took power, explains the destructive impact of racial ideology on the German people, warns of its dire consequences, disproves the lies on which it is based, particularly those of Günther (demonstrating, among other things, how according to Günther, less than 10% of Germans are Nordic according to his own definition), and attacks Nazi racial theory based on facts that expose the falsehood it rests on. On the other hand, he demonstrates the achievements of the Jewish people, in contrast to the Nazi claim of Semitic racial inferiority. Furthermore, he discusses whether there is a German race, the positive influence of Jews on German culture in fields such as physics, mathematics, art, architecture, the science of history, and more. Marcus reviews the positive role of Jewish women in German life and refutes the lies of anti-Semitic propaganda. In the second part of the book, he discusses at length the future of German Jewry and Hitler’s chances of remaining in power for long. “What about the half a million Jews left in Germany, what is their destiny?” and he predicts that without mass deportation or wholesale slaughter, German Jewry will survive: “The lesson from Jewish history gives us additional confidence that without mass deportation or slaughter, which seems quite unlikely even under the uncompromising hatred of the National Socialists, what has been called ‘the Jewish genius for survival’ will manifest in Germany.” (p. 300).
Marcus demonstrates the true contribution of the Jewish people to German culture from every conceivable perspective – economic, social, and political, and poses difficult and sharp questions to the world regarding their stance on what is happening in Nazi Germany.
The author studied at several German universities and completed his doctorate in Berlin. During the four years he spent in Berlin, he closely studied German life and the unprecedented outbreak of anti-Semitism in the early 1930s with the rise of the Nazi Party and its takeover of power. He describes the struggle of German Jewry to maintain its religious and cultural identity in times of persecution unlike any they had known before. He closely observed the Hitler movement gaining power and developing day by day, understanding its danger at such an early stage, when many around the world did not yet realize where its cruel path was heading. In Munich, he witnessed anti-Jewish riots, which led him to document these events to warn others before it was too late.
In his book, he traces the development of anti-Semitism in Germany from its beginnings to its peak in Hitler’s Germany. He precisely shows the evolution of this anti-Semitism, demonstrates its roots, and how it grew into the Hitlerite monster. He extensively describes the anti-Jewish laws, shows how German Jewry was affected by these laws, and objectively analyzes the chances of German Jewry’s survival. The book is based on facts collected through comprehensive research by Jacob Marcus himself.
XVII, [2], 417 pages. Hard cover with black cloth binding and the original dust jacket, which places a question mark over the Nazi swastika. Light tears at the top and bottom of the jacket. The book itself is in good condition.
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