JVF Conference Papers
I am concerned here with a peculiar generation of German Jews and their political and intellectual choices. What I have in mind is a group of people from rather affluent, upper-middle class German-Jewish families. At some point in the 19th century the families took the path of assimilation and the estrangement between them and the traditional Jewish way of life grew bigger and bigger. The parents of the people I want to talk about usually kept some form of Jewish (reform) tradition and, for example, attended the service at the synagogue on Yom Kippur. On the other hand, some of the families would celebrate Christmas and even have a Christmas tree, claiming that it is not a Christian, but a German tradition.
