To What Extent Were Jews Assimilated Into Germany by 1930?
To what extent were Jews assimilated into Germany by 1930? 24 marks
It would be extremely simplistic to state that all Jews were well assimilated in Germany by 1930 as the mere existence of segregation within the Jewish community within Germany serves as a representation that some were assimilated and some were not. We have the different ‘types’ of Jew such as: the German Jew, the Jewish German, the Ostjuden and the Polacks. These represent the Jewish chain in the German community and where they stood in terms of class, the German Jew as being very successful in the German culture and the Ostjuden and Polacks being at a very low class where they lived in slums and were not assimilated whatsoever. The barriers between the Jewish communities acted as a great hindrance for many Jews when it came to them integrating and assimilating into the culture. Barriers such as the language meant that minorities such as the Ostjuden and Polacks could not integrate because of their: lack of money, lack of education and their lack of citizenship- they were never exposed fully to the Germans so they could never fully assimilate. For the Jewish Germans however, the barriers weren’t ‘barriers’ as they had the ability to assimilate, but due to their orthodox beliefs, they wished to stick to their culture and their religious boundaries.
Many Jews were very well assimilated into the Weimar Culture by the 1930’s, so much that they saw themselves as being more German than they were Jewish(German Jews) and this was shown through their patriotism. They lived in the same neighbourhoods as the Germans, they went through the same education system and they wore the same clothes so as a result, they considered themselves German: part of the same community. These Jews, which were part of the majority, were secular and they didn’t clutch onto their religious observance, they even married non-Jewish spouses and converted to Christianity. They very much integrated into the atmosphere and the
It would be extremely simplistic to state that all Jews were well assimilated in Germany by 1930 as the mere existence of segregation within the Jewish community within Germany serves as a representation that some were assimilated and some were not. We have the different ‘types’ of Jew such as: the German Jew, the Jewish German, the Ostjuden and the Polacks. These represent the Jewish chain in the German community and where they stood in terms of class, the German Jew as being very successful in the German culture and the Ostjuden and Polacks being at a very low class where they lived in slums and were not assimilated whatsoever. The barriers between the Jewish communities acted as a great hindrance for many Jews when it came to them integrating and assimilating into the culture. Barriers such as the language meant that minorities such as the Ostjuden and Polacks could not integrate because of their: lack of money, lack of education and their lack of citizenship- they were never exposed fully to the Germans so they could never fully assimilate. For the Jewish Germans however, the barriers weren’t ‘barriers’ as they had the ability to assimilate, but due to their orthodox beliefs, they wished to stick to their culture and their religious boundaries.
Many Jews were very well assimilated into the Weimar Culture by the 1930’s, so much that they saw themselves as being more German than they were Jewish(German Jews) and this was shown through their patriotism. They lived in the same neighbourhoods as the Germans, they went through the same education system and they wore the same clothes so as a result, they considered themselves German: part of the same community. These Jews, which were part of the majority, were secular and they didn’t clutch onto their religious observance, they even married non-Jewish spouses and converted to Christianity. They very much integrated into the atmosphere and the