More German than the Germans
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"More German than the Germans" was a satirical or pejorative phrase used to describe the extreme degree of cultural assimilation among German Jews prior to World War II and the Holocaust. Originally, the comment was a "common sneer aimed at people" who had "thrown off the faith of their forefathers and adopted the garb of their Fatherland".[1] The German assimilation, following the Enlightenment, was "unprecedented".[2] The quote is sometimes ascribed to Chaim Weizmann.[3]
Translation:
Have you read? We, Germans, are not the pure-blooded race?!
– Who says that? If that donkey saw us two, he would know the appearance of the Kerndeutsch (core German) race!
In Bohemia too, Jews were perceived as trying to become more German than the Germans; they mainly spoke German.
Following the Enlightenment, many European Jews regarded Germany as a particularly desirable place to live, "a place of refuge, in comparison to Russia and Romania" where antisemitism was extremely virulent and violent, and even France, where the Enlightenment had begun.[3] German Jews began to immerse themselves in German culture and the arts, playing a full and even leading role in society. By the twentieth century, the German Jews had reached a state of Bildung und Besitz (i.e., cultivation and wealth).[3]
Forming a German-Jewish identity
Jewish women played a major role in the process of forming German-Jewish identity. Since they understood that Jews can hold both Jewish and national identities, Jewish women raised loyal families to Germany in the Imperial era. They served as mediators of Bildung within their homes and families, while simultaneously serving as agents of tradition.[4] Many Jewish women continued to keep kosher homes, attend synagogue on the Sabbath, and perform other Jewish rituals. In this light, Jews could be regular men and women on the streets and Jews in their homes, as suggested by Enlightenment advocator Yehuda Leib Gordon.[5]
Furthermore, Jewish women were instrumental in forming the social positions of Jews and their sense of "Germanness."[6] They encouraged their children to acculturate through their dress, speech and education and appreciated German entertainment and literature. Jewish women sent their children to music lessons and advanced secular schools. Thus, by combining German bourgeois practice and Jewish heritage, they formed a German-Jewish identity that balanced integration and tradition. Jewish women helped their families look, act, and feel like other Germans while remaining Jewish.[7] Their actions allowed Jews to ultimately receive the description of being "more German than the Germans."
