While many books describe daily life in Eastern European cities and shtetls before the Holocaust, Emily Rose's Portraits of Our Past: Jews of the German Countryside may be unique in highlighting the experiences of rural Jews in 18th- and 19th-century Germany. Through a genealogy research project, Rose came to realize that her understanding of rural German Jews "had been very limited and, in many respects, completely wrong"; this absorbing study weaves her discoveries about her own ancestors' experiences with the larger history of Diaspora Jews in Germany. The book is enhanced by dozens of maps, illustrations and facsimiles.
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Horber Chronik, Germany
For a long time in all cases, the small town chroniclers have interested themselves in the history of the rural Jews. Their bulky reports die in the archives. Now an American has written a book in regard to the history of the Jewish community in Mhringen: it is interestingly described, well done, readable, and exciting. No, the Nazis dont arrive. But dont let yourself be put off. The end product is pleasant. You are not invited to a snobbish family history in book form. The family trees are not important and the substance does not wear you out as the readers in scientific as well as amateur presentations experience. The Americans are good describers in fiction and in popular science, and Ms. Rose has prepared clearly and excitingly 150 years of forgotten town history, she presents an example full study of the rural Jews in Germany. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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