Ofer Ashkenazi – författare

Anti-Heimat Cinema: The Jewish Invention of the German Landscape studies an overlooked yet fundamental element of German popular culture in the twentieth century. In tracing Jewish filmmakers’ contemplations of “Heimat”—a provincial German landscape associated with belonging and authenticity—it analyzes their distinctive contribution to the German identity discourse between 1918 and 1968. In its emphasis on rootedness and homogeneity Heimat seemed to challenge the validity and significance of Jewish emancipation. Several acculturation-seeking Jewish artists and intellectuals, however, endeavored to conceive a notion of Heimat that would rather substantiate their belonging. This book considers Jewish filmmakers’ contribution to this endeavor. It shows how they devised the landscapes of the German “Homeland” as Jews, namely, as acculturated, “outsiders within.” Through appropriation of generic Heimat imagery, the films discussed in the book integrate criticism of national chauvinism into German mainstream culture from World War One to the Cold War. Consequently, these Jewish filmmakers anticipated the anti-Heimat film of the ensuing decades, and functioned as an uncredited inspiration for the critical New German Cinema.

Anti-Heimat Cinema: The Jewish Invention of the German Landscape studies an overlooked yet fundamental element of German popular culture in the twentieth century. In tracing Jewish filmmakers’ contemplations of “Heimat”—a provincial German landscape associated with belonging and authenticity—it analyzes their distinctive contribution to the German identity discourse between 1918 and 1968. In its emphasis on rootedness and homogeneity Heimat seemed to challenge the validity and significance of Jewish emancipation. Several acculturation-seeking Jewish artists and intellectuals, however, endeavored to conceive a notion of Heimat that would rather substantiate their belonging.This book considers Jewish filmmakers’ contribution to this endeavor. It shows how they devised the landscapes of the German “Homeland” as Jews, namely, as acculturated “outsiders within.” Through appropriation of generic Heimat imagery, the films discussed in the book integrate criticism of national chauvinism into German mainstream culture from World War I to the Cold War. Consequently, these Jewish filmmakers anticipated the anti-Heimat film of the ensuing decades, and functioned as an uncredited inspiration for the critical New German Cinema.

How German Jews used photographs to document their experiences in the face of National Socialism Still Lives is a systematic study of the ways Jews used photographs to document their experiences in the face of National Socialism. In a time of intensifying anti-Jewish rhetoric and policies, German Jews documented their lives and their environment in tens of thousands of photographs. German Jews of considerably diverse backgrounds took and preserved these photographs: professional and amateurs, of different ages, gender, and classes. The book argues that their previously overlooked photographs convey otherwise unuttered views, emotions, and self-perceptions. Based on a database of more than fifteen thousand relevant images, it analyzes photographs within the historical contexts of their production, preservation, and intended viewing, and explores a plethora of Jews' reactions to the changing landscapes of post-1933 Germany. Here, the authors claim that these reactions complement, complicate, and, sometimes, undermine the contents of contemporaneous written sources.Still Lives develops a new methodology for historians to use while reading and analyzing photographs, and shows how one can highlight an image's role in a narrative that comments on, and assigns meaning to, the reality it documents. In times of radical uncertainty, numerous German Jews used photography to communicate their intricate, confused, and conflicting expectations, fears, and beliefs. Through careful analysis of these photographs, this book lays the foundations for a new history of the German-Jewish experience during the National Socialist years.

How German Jews used photographs to document their experiences in the face of National SocialismStill Lives is a systematic study of the ways Jews used photographs to document their experiences in the face of National Socialism. In a time of intensifying anti-Jewish rhetoric and policies, German Jews documented their lives and their environment in tens of thousands of photographs. German Jews of considerably diverse backgrounds took and preserved these photographs: professional and amateurs, of different ages, gender, and classes. The book argues that their previously overlooked photographs convey otherwise unuttered views, emotions, and self-perceptions. Based on a database of more than fifteen thousand relevant images, it analyzes photographs within the historical contexts of their production, preservation, and intended viewing, and explores a plethora of Jews' reactions to the changing landscapes of post-1933 Germany. Here, the authors claim that these reactions complement, complicate, and, sometimes, undermine the contents of contemporaneous written sources.Still Lives develops a new methodology for historians to use while reading and analyzing photographs, and shows how one can highlight an image's role in a narrative that comments on, and assigns meaning to, the reality it documents. In times of radical uncertainty, numerous German Jews used photography to communicate their intricate, confused, and conflicting expectations, fears, and beliefs. Through careful analysis of these photographs, this book lays the foundations for a new history of the German-Jewish experience during the National Socialist years.

Lange Jahre waren im kollektiven Gedächtnis sowie in der Geschichtsschreibung über die ''Jeckes'' genannten Migrantinnen und Migranten aus Deutschland und Zentraleuropa zwei Narrative dominierend: Während das eine artikuliert, dass diese sich nur begrenzt in die bereits bestehende jüdische Gesellschaft des britischen Mandatsgebiets Palästina und Israels integriert hätten, betont das andere ihren positiven Beitrag zur Modernisierung des Landes. Beide Narrative sind nicht unbedingt konkurrierend, sondern ergänzen sich, beiden liegt zumeist dasselbe normative Diktum zugrunde – der Aufbau von Stadt, Land und Staat als jener Maßstab, an dem eine Migrantengruppe zu messen sei.Doch so zählebig beide Narrative sind, wird die Geschichte der Jeckes zunehmend mittels innovativer historiografischer und kulturwissenschaftlicher Ansätze und Methoden geschrieben, wie sie für die moderne, auch deutsch-jüdische Geschichtsschreibung längst üblich sind. Diese Trends bündelt und intensiviert der vorliegende Band. Die versammelten Beiträge analysieren kulturelle Transfers von Deutschland und Zentraleuropa nach Palästina und Israel im Spannungsfeld von Bewahrung und Transformation; sie fragen nach Lebenswelten und Identitätsentwürfen, untersuchen ''jeckische Institutionen'' der Stadt, Biografien von Individuen, Familien und Generationen, Alltag und Habitus, ''Kulturkämpfe'' sowie Milieus, kulturelle Gedächtnisse und Tradierungen.Deutsche und zentraleuropäische Juden in Palästina und Israel, ein polyphones – auch disparates – Mosaik, will damit die Stereotype, die im Zusammenhang mit den Jeckes beharrlich reproduziert werden, aufbrechen, zumindest überprüfen und die Komplexität und Pluralität der Befunde herausstellen. Das Buch ist interdisziplinär angelegt und enthält Originalbeiträge internationaler Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler sowie reichhaltiges, bisher weitgehend unveröffentlichtes privates Bildmaterial. Haifa dient als Prisma und Beispiel. Unter den drei großen Städten des Landes am meisten ''jeckisch'' geprägt, spiegelt die Hafenstadt im Norden Israels die Migration der weniger Prominenten wider, gleichzeitig aber auch jener, die die deutschen Juden ganz besonders repräsentierten.

Reveals the significance of photography in modern Jewish history and memory.Rethinking Jewish History and Memory Through Photography highlights the significant role of photography in modern Jewish history and memory. Considering photographs as unique documents that not only depict reality but also shape how it is perceived and remembered, the volume emphasizes the importance of careful photographic analysis in understanding modern Jewish experiences, self-perceptions, and memories. Bringing together leading and emerging scholars, the book offers a range of innovative approaches to central themes in modern Jewish history, including nationalism, migration, race, and antisemitism. In addition to the discussion of various case studies, a variety of methodological approaches for the current and future use of photoanalysis by scholars are presented.