Henry Buxbaum And Esther Summary
Society throughout Europe changed drastically for many groups in the wake of the First World War. The nation-state of Poland was created, and many other borders were completely redrawn. The Jewish people of Europe began to have clear differences based on nationality and region, and were also very different within their own populations. The lives of Henry Buxbaum and Esther show that, while the Jews of Germany and Poland during the interwar period had clear overarching distinctions, there was also an abundance of variety and division amongst the Jews of each of these countries. This is manifested in both the Buxbaum and Esther narratives as religious, economic, and political struggles and disagreements, which demonstrate differences between
…show more content…
Economic division is the overarching theme of Buxbaum’s writing, and he even says that the division that was manifested most in daily life was that between the rich and poor (Buxbaum, 301). His words agree with the general conception that German Jews were generally more wealthy. He speaks as if his own family is poor relative to their fellow Jews who live in extravagance, and yet he also mentions that his family could afford a hired maid to work in the house (Buxbaum, 301). So, while economic diversity was common in Buxbaum’s social circle and in Jewish Germany, the low end of the spectrum may not have been particularly as hard-pressed economically as Buxbaum portrayed it to be. Esther’s family seemed to be in a similar situation to Buxbaum. She says that her family owns their own business, although they would eventually lose it as the economic climate worsened (Esther, 326). However, Esther’s family seemed to be fairly high in status relative to many other Polish Jews since she was able to attend multiple schools and many struggled to go to school at all (Esther, 322, 337). Once again her narrative shows, almost unintentionally, the distinction between the Polish Jews economically and how even those who were well-off could descend into monetary
Economic division is the overarching theme of Buxbaum’s writing, and he even says that the division that was manifested most in daily life was that between the rich and poor (Buxbaum, 301). His words agree with the general conception that German Jews were generally more wealthy. He speaks as if his own family is poor relative to their fellow Jews who live in extravagance, and yet he also mentions that his family could afford a hired maid to work in the house (Buxbaum, 301). So, while economic diversity was common in Buxbaum’s social circle and in Jewish Germany, the low end of the spectrum may not have been particularly as hard-pressed economically as Buxbaum portrayed it to be. Esther’s family seemed to be in a similar situation to Buxbaum. She says that her family owns their own business, although they would eventually lose it as the economic climate worsened (Esther, 326). However, Esther’s family seemed to be fairly high in status relative to many other Polish Jews since she was able to attend multiple schools and many struggled to go to school at all (Esther, 322, 337). Once again her narrative shows, almost unintentionally, the distinction between the Polish Jews economically and how even those who were well-off could descend into monetary