Jüdische Intellektuelle im Ersten Weltkrieg : Kriegserfahrungen, weltanschauliche Debatten und kulturelle Neuenwürfe

Examines the reactions of German Jewish intellectuals to spreading antisemitism during World War I, which jeopardized the already advanced integration of the Jewish middle class into Wilhelmine society. Pp. 174-194 discuss the radicalization of antisemitism, which was "völkisch"-oriented. Already in 1914, German Jews were accused of shirking their national duty and of unpatriotic attitudes. "Völkisch" antisemites - e.g. Adolf Bartels, Theodor Fritsch, and Houston Stewart Chamberlain - claimed that Jews were responsible for errors made during the war, for the black market and smuggling, identifying them with a dehumanized capitalist economy, opposed to "German" thinking. Discusses, also, the ambivalent attitude of Werner Sombart toward Judaism and the Jews. Contends that most Jewish intellectuals, among them Buber, did not recognize the qualitative change of antisemitism during World War I sharply enough. The most clairvoyant opinion came from Jakob Wassermann, whose remarks on German-Jewish symbiosis bore skepticism and disillusionment. Originally presented as the author's thesis (Habilitationsschrift)--Philipps-Universität Marburg, 1999. 400 pages ; 25 cm