A01=Ruth Ellen Gruber
antisemitism
austria
Author_Ruth Ellen Gruber
Category=GTM
Category=JBCC
Category=JBSR
cemeteries
communism
czech republic
emigration
eq_bestseller
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
ethnic studies
europe
european jews
exhibitions
exile
genocide
gentiles
germany
ghettos
history
holocaust
homeland
israel
italy
jewish absence
jewish cafes
jewish communities
jewish culture
jewish festivals
jewish heritage travel
jewish museums
jewish quarters
jewish studies
jews
judaica
judaism
killing fields
klezmer music
migration
music
nazis
nonfiction
pogrom
poland
refugee
religion
synagogues
tourism
wwii
yiddish music
zion
Product details
- ISBN 9780520213630
- Weight: 635g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 15 Jan 2002
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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More than half a century after the Holocaust, in countries where Jews make up just a tiny fraction of the population, products of Jewish culture (or what is perceived as Jewish culture) have become very viable components of the popular public domain. But how can there be a visible and growing Jewish presence in Europe, without the significant presence of Jews? Ruth Ellen Gruber explores this phenomenon, traveling through Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, and elsewhere to observe firsthand the many facets of a remarkable trend. Across the continent, Jewish festivals, performances, publications, and study programs abound. Jewish museums have opened by the dozen, and synagogues and Jewish quarters are being restored, often as tourist attractions. In Europe, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, klezmer music concerts, exhibitions, and cafes with Jewish themes are drawing enthusiastic - and often overwhelmingly non-Jewish - crowds. In what ways, Gruber asks, do non-Jews embrace and enact Jewish culture, and for what reasons? For some, the process is a way of filling in communist-era blanks.
For others, it is a means of coming to terms with the Nazi legacy or a key to building (or rebuilding) a democratic and tolerant state. Clearly, the phenomenon has as many motivations as manifestations. Gruber investigates the issues surrounding this 'virtual Jewish world' in three specific areas: the reclaiming of the built heritage, including synagogues, cemeteries, and former ghettos and Jewish quarters; the representation of Jewish culture through tourism and museums; and the role of klezmer and Yiddish music as typical 'Jewish cultural products.' Although she features the relationship of non-Jews to the Jewish phenomenon, Gruber also considers its effect on local Jews and Jewish communities and the revival of Jewish life in Europe. Her view of how the trend has developed and where it may be going is thoughtful, colorful, and very well informed.
Ruth Ellen Gruber is the author of Upon the Doorposts of Thy House (1994) and Jewish Heritage Travel (1992/1999). She lives and writes in Italy and Hungary.
