Читать книгу The Holocaust: History in an Hour - Jemma Saunders J. - Страница 6

Although anti-Semitism was, to an extent, ingrained in the consciousness of many gentile Germans, by the turn of the twentieth century a large proportion of the Jews living in Germany were nevertheless fully assimilated into society. Across the nation, Jewish philosophers, composers and artists had long been at the forefront of a flourishing cultural scene.

For many Jewish families, Germany had been their homeland for generations, and regular attendance at synagogue and maintaining religious traditions did not compromise their sense of German identity. Indeed, the majority of German Jews were not strictly Orthodox, instead practising a more liberal Judaism that did not necessitate keeping a strictly kosher household or having a fluent command of Hebrew.

However, nationalism was a thriving sentiment in the newly formed Germany and by 1908, Jews were banned from the Pan-German League. As a nationalist organization that supported the idea of a German empire, this exclusion demonstrated that neither Orthodox nor liberal Jews were considered racially equal to ethnic Germans. As in Russia, explicit expressions against the Jewish population were rising in Germany.

That many Jews still considered themselves German and integrated in spite of such prejudices is demonstrated by the fact that 100,000 Jews served the Fatherland between 1914 and 1918, with 12,000 dying for their country during the conflict. In the years following the First World War, these statistics were often conveniently forgotten by right-wing nationalists.