Love and Liberation: When the Jews Tore Down the Ghetto Walls [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Ralph David Fertig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 29, 2001

In the Breslau ghetto in the late eighteenth century, Jonah seeks to avenge his father, unjustly imprisoned by Prussians. He confronts subjugation from without the Jewish community and the oppression of religious fundamentalism within. When his Jacobin cell is discovered, he flees westward, joins the French revolutionists, and marches with Napoleon across Italy and the Germanic states, battling his way back to Hadassah, the schoolmaster's daughter, the love he seeks to liberate.Aaron finds comfort in the Talmud and tries to express its message of social justice in a context suited to the Age of Enlightenment, against the exuberance of the Chasids, on the one hand, and the growing impetus for assimilation, on the other. Widowed upon the death of Hadassah's sister, he finds a partnership with her in the nascence of Reform Judaism.Nathan, whose father manipulates the ambiguity of the period, builds economic opportunity as capitalism emerges from the wreckage of feudalism. He faces conflicts in values between the salon society of affluent Berlin Jews, the intellectual heritage of his wife's family, and the pushcart peddlers of the ghetto, among whom Aaron and Hadassah minister.Their interactions with one another and with representative and real characters of the time reveal the struggles and forces that culminate for each in their own personal liberation and that of Jews throughout Europe.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ralph Fertig has fought for social justice as a Federal Administrative Judge, Civil Rights Lawyer, Social Agency Administrator, Sociologist, Instructor, writer, President of the Humanitarian Law Project, Synagogue Trustee, a veteran Freedom Rider, human rights advocate through Americans for Democratic Action, progressive inter-faith, Jewish, community-based, and international organizations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (January 29, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595163831
• ISBN-13: 978-0595163830
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,611,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly creative marriage of History and Art, June 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Love and Liberation: When the Jews Tore Down the Ghetto Walls (Paperback)

Prof. Stanley A. Wolpert, Professor of History at UCLA, writes: "Love and Liberation is a truly creative marriage of History and Art. Ralph Fertig's poignant love story is set against a compelling backdrop of inhuman oppression of Jews in the Breslau ghetto and their heartrending struggles to achieve dignity and liberation. Fertig's brilliant command of History is as impressive as is his creative talent in vividly portraying multifaceted human beings. 'Love and Liberation' is an inspiring and beautiful book."

LOS ANGELES TIMES lists "Love and Liberation" as fourth in its publication of Bestsellers for paperback fiction (June 10, 2001)

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Love and Liberation" captures a vital moment of history, February 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Love and Liberation: When the Jews Tore Down the Ghetto Walls (Paperback)

Rabbi Chaim Beliak of Jerusalem and Los Angles writes, "Fertig has captured a period of time often hidden from the view of knowledgeable professional historians and lay readers. How life was lived at the early moments of modernity. Jewish struggles in Germany for participation in civil society were arduous and difficult. Fertig connects all the dots in an entertaining and very readable fashion."