A Forum for Self-reflection on the Jewish War Experience: The German-Jewish Press, 1914-1918

• In Event: Nation, Narrative, and Histories of News

Abstract

The German-Jewish press is a key historical source. The newspapers and journals mirror the communal life as well as the central debates prevalent in the German-Jewish communities of the past. The outbreak of war triggered a lively discussion on the current and future position of the Jews within the German nation in Jewish papers. Initial hopes that the war would increase Jewish inclusion were, however, thwarted, for the war led to a rise in antisemitism and thus to experiences of exclusion at home and at the front. My article analyses the discourses on the Jewish war experience, using selected journals as a source. These discourses, which were quite similar on the outbreak of hostilities, drifted apart as the conflict continued, mainly as a result of the diverse religious and political orientations of the journals. Still, the discourses continued to reveal certain similarities in their reflection on the Jewish war experience.

Author

• Stephanie Seul, University of Bremen