The German-Dutch-French edition ( Oorlogs Koerier = Courrier de guerre) of April 1917 on the other hand printed a picture of the photography agency ‘Photo-Samson,’ depicting German Jewish soldiers at the Pesach ceremony in Brussels. This weekly appeared simultaneously in a German-Italian-French edition ( Corriere della Guerra = Courrier de la Guerre), a German-Dutch-French edition ( Oorlogs Koerier = Courrier de guerre), and a German-Russian-French edition ( Illjustrirovannyi kur'er voiny = Courrier de guerre), and last but not least in a German-Yiddish edition. 6ĭuring the War Germany made extensive use of pictures and photographs for propaganda purposes, and the weekly Illustrierter Kriegs-Kurier (Illustrated War Courier ) published by the Berlin-based Illustrierter Kurier Verlagsgesellschaft (Illustrated Courier Publishing House) provided images showing the harm wrought by the war while also giving the impression of the virtuous German mission in the world. 5 The German political class had effectively spread the rumour that Germany together with its ally, the Habsburg Empire, had been attacked. In view of Emperor Wilhelm II’s solemn declaration to no longer recognize any political or confessional boundaries but only Germans, they enthusiastically hoped to overcome the last obstacles blocking their full civil and political recognition while also bringing their struggle against anti-Semitism to a successful conclusion. The vast majority of German Jews expressed their patriotic approval of the war and their loyalty to the German state and culture. Only some outsiders warned of the horror of a war in an age of technologically advanced killing machinery. Only a few Jewish intellectuals or converts, who nonetheless still bonded with their Jewish heritage, and some socialist Jews were able to resist the suggestive impact of this historical moment. 4 The patriotic feelings were by no means restricted to the established Jewish middle classes - even the Zionist movement and the Orthodox minority became attuned to German jingoism. In August 1914 the majority of German Jews identified with Germany, and a large number signed up voluntarily for military service at the front. 3 In both cases, to come to terms with the implications and meanings of war one needs to take into account the specific features of the very first acts of war by the German army, and that, in turn, means to study the German occupation of Belgium in August and September 1914. “The legendary unity of the Jews seemed destroyed for ever.” 2 Coincidently the First World War was a turning point for both German-Jewish and general German history, marking the beginning of the short 20 th century. The second part then analyzes the coverage of German Jewish newspapers regarding the warfare against Belgium and, finally, the third and last part scrutinizes the commentaries of German Jewish intellectuals and socialist Jews regarding the German war against Belgium.įor European Jewish history, the First World War marked the end of the long tradition of transnational exchange of European Jewry the Great War even implied a “Jewish fratricidal war of the greatest magnitude.” 1 According to Shulamit Volkov, European Jewry during/as a result of the war seemed irrevocably divided into Jews of different nationalities. The first part examines autobiographical sources to reconstruct the experiences and the perception of German Jewish soldiers, German military rabbis, and other German Jewish witnesses to the war. This paper concentrates on the first acts of war conducted by the German military forces during the German occupation of Belgium it examines whether and in what way German-Jewish Intellectuals perceived Germany’s violation of Belgian neutrality and the new feature of war as a war against a civilian population. The Jewish population in Germany supported the war not least because it was directed against Russia, the harshest adversary of the Jews. They identified with Germany, and a large number signed up voluntarily for military service at the front. In August 1914 the majority of German Jews expressed their patriotic approval of the war and their loyalty to the German state.
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