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Stranger in My Own Country: A Jewish Family in Modern Germany
A moving and unsettling exploration of a young man's formative years in a country still struggling with its past
As a Jew in postwar Germany, Yascha Mounk felt like a foreigner in his own country. When he mentioned that he is Jewish, some made anti-Semitic jokes or talked about the superiority of the Aryan race. Others, sincerely hoping to atone for the country's past, fawned over him with a forced friendliness he found just as alienating.
Vivid and fascinating, Stranger in My Own Country traces the contours of Jewish life in a country still struggling with the legacy of the Third Reich and portrays those who, inevitably, continue to live in its shadow. Marshaling an extraordinary range of material into a lively narrative, Mounk surveys his countrymen's responses to "the Jewish question." Examining history, the story of his family, and his own childhood, he shows that anti-Semitism and far-right extremism have long coexisted with self-conscious philo-Semitism in postwar Germany.
But of late a new kind of resentment against Jews has come out in the open. Unnoticed by much of the outside world, the desire for a "finish line" that would spell a definitive end to the country's obsession with the past is feeding an emphasis on German victimhood. Mounk shows how, from the government's pursuit of a less "apologetic" foreign policy to the way the country's idea of the Volk makes life difficult for its immigrant communities, a troubled nationalism is shaping Germany's future.
As a Jew in postwar Germany, Yascha Mounk felt like a foreigner in his own country. When he mentioned that he is Jewish, some made anti-Semitic jokes or talked about the superiority of the Aryan race. Others, sincerely hoping to atone for the country's past, fawned over him with a forced friendliness he found just as alienating.
Vivid and fascinating, Stranger in My Own Country traces the contours of Jewish life in a country still struggling with the legacy of the Third Reich and portrays those who, inevitably, continue to live in its shadow. Marshaling an extraordinary range of material into a lively narrative, Mounk surveys his countrymen's responses to "the Jewish question." Examining history, the story of his family, and his own childhood, he shows that anti-Semitism and far-right extremism have long coexisted with self-conscious philo-Semitism in postwar Germany.
But of late a new kind of resentment against Jews has come out in the open. Unnoticed by much of the outside world, the desire for a "finish line" that would spell a definitive end to the country's obsession with the past is feeding an emphasis on German victimhood. Mounk shows how, from the government's pursuit of a less "apologetic" foreign policy to the way the country's idea of the Volk makes life difficult for its immigrant communities, a troubled nationalism is shaping Germany's future.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2014
36 people are currently reading
661 people want to read
About the author
Yascha Mounk
8 books245 followersYascha Mounk is a writer, academic and public speaker known for his work on the crisis of democracy and the defense of philosophically liberal values.
Born in Germany to Polish parents, Yascha received his BA in History from Trinity College Cambridge and his PhD in Government from Harvard University. He is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, where he holds appointments in both the School of Advanced International Studies and the SNF Agora Institute. Yascha is also a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Moynihan Public Fellow at City College. He is the Founder of Persuasion, the host of The Good Fight podcast, and serves as a publisher (Herausgeber) at Die Zeit.
Yascha has written five books: Stranger in My Own Country – A Jewish Family in Modern Germany, a memoir about Germany’s fraught attempts to deal with its past; The Age of Responsibility – Luck, Choice and the Welfare State, which argues that a growing obsession with the concept of individual responsibility has transformed western welfare states; The People versus Democracy – Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It, which explains the causes of the populist rise and investigates how to renew liberal democracy; The Great Experiment – Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure, which argues that anybody who seeks to help ethnically and religiously diverse democracies thrive has reason to embrace a more ambitious vision for their future than is now fashionable; and his latest, The Identity Trap – A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, which tells the story of how a new set of ideas about race, gender and sexual orientation came to be extremely influential in mainstream institutions, and why it would be a mistake to give up on a more universalist humanism.
Next to his work for The Atlantic, Yascha also occasionally writes for newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. He is also a regular contributor to major international publications including Die Zeit, La Repubblica, El País, l’Express and Folha de São Paolo, among others.
Born in Germany to Polish parents, Yascha received his BA in History from Trinity College Cambridge and his PhD in Government from Harvard University. He is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, where he holds appointments in both the School of Advanced International Studies and the SNF Agora Institute. Yascha is also a Contributing Editor at The Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Moynihan Public Fellow at City College. He is the Founder of Persuasion, the host of The Good Fight podcast, and serves as a publisher (Herausgeber) at Die Zeit.
Yascha has written five books: Stranger in My Own Country – A Jewish Family in Modern Germany, a memoir about Germany’s fraught attempts to deal with its past; The Age of Responsibility – Luck, Choice and the Welfare State, which argues that a growing obsession with the concept of individual responsibility has transformed western welfare states; The People versus Democracy – Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It, which explains the causes of the populist rise and investigates how to renew liberal democracy; The Great Experiment – Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure, which argues that anybody who seeks to help ethnically and religiously diverse democracies thrive has reason to embrace a more ambitious vision for their future than is now fashionable; and his latest, The Identity Trap – A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time, which tells the story of how a new set of ideas about race, gender and sexual orientation came to be extremely influential in mainstream institutions, and why it would be a mistake to give up on a more universalist humanism.
Next to his work for The Atlantic, Yascha also occasionally writes for newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. He is also a regular contributor to major international publications including Die Zeit, La Repubblica, El País, l’Express and Folha de São Paolo, among others.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 1, 2014
An important book for its insider look at Germany and its complicated relationship with Jews. The only thing I didn't like about it is that the author wrote only about the negatives, as if Germany is a lost cause and will never adapt to "non-German" elements within its borders. One thing he didn't really touch on was how he feels about Germans, other than to say that the way they walk on eggshells around Jews is almost as bad to him as outright anti-Semitism.
I thought he covered the topics of immigration and assimilation, political backpedaling, and the Germans' desire to be rid of their past very well. I'm married to a German and I've witnessed how hard it is for him to deal with the attitudes of non-Germans toward him and his country.
The book was pretty objective overall, but I did feel like the author has a basically negative view of Germany. Whether that's a personal reaction or one that is common to most German Jews isn't really clear. I would have liked to read more about that.
I thought he covered the topics of immigration and assimilation, political backpedaling, and the Germans' desire to be rid of their past very well. I'm married to a German and I've witnessed how hard it is for him to deal with the attitudes of non-Germans toward him and his country.
The book was pretty objective overall, but I did feel like the author has a basically negative view of Germany. Whether that's a personal reaction or one that is common to most German Jews isn't really clear. I would have liked to read more about that.
January 20, 2014
I came to this book through Mark Oppenheimer's review in the New York Times book review. It's a good review, all things considered, and Yascha is lucky to have gotten it. It helped that he is Jewish at least culturally, a guy, Harvard affiliated and loves New York and he is "harshing" a bit on Germany. The faults are attributed to his youth.
I have lived in NY since 1967 and attended many Jewish film festivals. I have been struck by the many films jointly produced by Israel and Germany. This book explores the culture behind that collaboration from one person's perspective. I differ with the NYT reviewer in that I do think the relationship that the US has with blacks is analogous to Germany's with the Jews. It is only one small paragraph in the book and would be lost on anyone who did not think that a huge undercurrent of the cultural life of the US is its inability to adequately address the fact and legacy of slavery. Even if it is to say they are nothing alike.
I found Yascha's family fascinating and the book left me with questions and wanting more, perhaps, a documentary. I am gratified to know that NY in the 2000's has the same ability to attract 20 something's as it did in the 60's. He is a very talented writer. I assume it is being published in German. I would like to know how it is received. All in all an excellent read.
I have lived in NY since 1967 and attended many Jewish film festivals. I have been struck by the many films jointly produced by Israel and Germany. This book explores the culture behind that collaboration from one person's perspective. I differ with the NYT reviewer in that I do think the relationship that the US has with blacks is analogous to Germany's with the Jews. It is only one small paragraph in the book and would be lost on anyone who did not think that a huge undercurrent of the cultural life of the US is its inability to adequately address the fact and legacy of slavery. Even if it is to say they are nothing alike.
I found Yascha's family fascinating and the book left me with questions and wanting more, perhaps, a documentary. I am gratified to know that NY in the 2000's has the same ability to attract 20 something's as it did in the 60's. He is a very talented writer. I assume it is being published in German. I would like to know how it is received. All in all an excellent read.
May 11, 2018
An account of how Jewish people in Germany were treated in the years following WWII and forward and how Jews, represented by the author, fit into German society. The author also addresses how the "Jew question" has informed German politics and society over the years. More factual information than a personal story, but the book is interesting and informative. The author also draws parallels to treatment of African-Americans and immigrants in the U.S.
April 19, 2024
I enjoyed this book, and I found myself in deep thought about the circumstances and the causes talked about throughout. I don't agree with some of the author's thoughts on what it means to be a part of a country, or his views on immigration, but after learning of his experiences I can see how he arrived at his conclusions.
July 3, 2014
I didn't like this book as much as I hoped to, or wanted to. (See, by the way, a very interesting and, I think, accurate review in the NY Times). The author, a (young) PhD student at Harvard, is from a Polish family, the few of his family to survive the Holocaust. Due to purges of Jews in Poland and job opportunities his mother moved to Germany and that's where the author was raised and educated. His account of being the only Jew many of his contemporaries had ever met is both interesting, amusing and thought-provoking. His explanations and explorations of the political situation (regarding anti-Semitism and anti-immigration expressions and beliefs) is not always convincing or well thought out. Maybe the book just tries to be too much, to explore too many topics. I must admit I was troubled by what Mounk says about the current government and what he believes to be the feelings of many Germans about the War and the Holocaust. One effect of reading this book was, I acknowledge, even less of an interest in visiting Germany than I've had.
March 30, 2014
A shockingly rude awakening. I picked up the book to find answered to questions about modern Germans' attitude towards the atrocities committed by their ancestors. Questions to which I intuitively had preconceived answers to. But I discovered in this book was an eye-opening revelation about every aspect of modern Germany's mindset far beyond of what I was expecting or looking to discover. I am truly shocked. Every Jew, German, every person must read this book to gain insight into his or her own set of attitudes about "others" & learn from the mistakes of the contemporaries.
November 16, 2016
Lest we forget, deny or pretend it never happened. This book is an honest reflection on man's inability to take responsibility for one's action, be it through passively ignoring evil and the effect it has on future generations. The sins of the fathers are truely visited on the children, again and again. The author Yasha Mounk is a voice of a new generation, consciously grappling with the uncomprehending evils of WW2. It seems Europe needs reminding ever so often not to become complancent and passive while atrocities are being committed.
May 4, 2014
Fascinating perspective of current day Germany told through the eyes of Jewish young man raised there who no longer feels he can live there. A combination of autobiography, history and novel. Although biased from one perspective I certainly learned while reading it.
April 24, 2021
Ostensibly, a memoir about growing up Jewish in Germany in the 80s and 90s, this book is really a meditation about the role guilt and resentment play in writing and re-writing history and ultimately our own self-image. Mr. Mounk relates in broad themes the journey of Holocaust remembrance in West Germany (and then Germany) and how this led to relationships between Gentiles and Jews in Germany and German foreign policy. I would not call this a history, but more of a personal essay. Despite not being a serious academic history, Mr. Mounk is an extraordinarily engaging writer and he shows how "the personal is political" but he also shows the downside when every personal interaction is fraught with political overtones. Interestingly, as I read this book, I could not help but think of the state and evolution of race relations in the United States. Mr. Mounk draws this comparison explicitly in his epilogue.
Mr. Mounk's family were Holocaust survivors in Poland and true believers in Poland's new Communist regime. However, the Communists eventually turned on the Jews for their own political gain and the few remaining family members were forced to emigrate to the West. Mr. Mounk's mother and grandfather landed in West Germany at the same time that West Germany was trying to move on or "draw a line under" the Holocaust. In the early days of the Federal Republic, remembrance was suppressed and many former high ranking Nazis became high ranking members of the government. Latent antisemitism was silent but present. In the late 60's, a new generation of Germans demanded accountability of the parents and elders and sought to atone for the sins of the past. This led to a philo-semitism which still made Mr. Mounk feel like an outsider, a welcome outsider, but not a true German. Beginning in the late 80's a new strain of resentment arose in German society because "Germans" were tired of being reminded of their past. Many felt singled out and ashamed, so they became more angry. In terms of German foreign policy, this resentment led to a new "Germany for Germans" attitude, including anti-immigrant sentiments and a resentment at a possible bailout of other European countries during the Euro crisis. (Shades of "America First"!)
Mr. Mounk relates the extraordinary change in public opinion caused by airing the Holocaust, a miniseries with Meryl Streep and James Woods among others, in the late 70s. I have read other books that mention how the airing caused consternation among Germany's political leaders. They moved it to an unfavorable time slot on a lesser-watched channel. Nevertheless, something like 1/3 of West Germans watched the mini-series and apparently it caused quite a change in the way ordinary society viewed the past. I feel like someone should write a book about television mini-series and historical consciousness - Holocaust in Germany, Roots in the US, any others?
Mr. Mounk's subject is very serious and yet he writes in an almost humorous style about his various engagements throughout his life with "real Germans". The book is easy to read (emotionally difficult, but easy to read) and really shows the intersection of historical currents with ordinary lives lived.
Mr. Mounk's family were Holocaust survivors in Poland and true believers in Poland's new Communist regime. However, the Communists eventually turned on the Jews for their own political gain and the few remaining family members were forced to emigrate to the West. Mr. Mounk's mother and grandfather landed in West Germany at the same time that West Germany was trying to move on or "draw a line under" the Holocaust. In the early days of the Federal Republic, remembrance was suppressed and many former high ranking Nazis became high ranking members of the government. Latent antisemitism was silent but present. In the late 60's, a new generation of Germans demanded accountability of the parents and elders and sought to atone for the sins of the past. This led to a philo-semitism which still made Mr. Mounk feel like an outsider, a welcome outsider, but not a true German. Beginning in the late 80's a new strain of resentment arose in German society because "Germans" were tired of being reminded of their past. Many felt singled out and ashamed, so they became more angry. In terms of German foreign policy, this resentment led to a new "Germany for Germans" attitude, including anti-immigrant sentiments and a resentment at a possible bailout of other European countries during the Euro crisis. (Shades of "America First"!)
Mr. Mounk relates the extraordinary change in public opinion caused by airing the Holocaust, a miniseries with Meryl Streep and James Woods among others, in the late 70s. I have read other books that mention how the airing caused consternation among Germany's political leaders. They moved it to an unfavorable time slot on a lesser-watched channel. Nevertheless, something like 1/3 of West Germans watched the mini-series and apparently it caused quite a change in the way ordinary society viewed the past. I feel like someone should write a book about television mini-series and historical consciousness - Holocaust in Germany, Roots in the US, any others?
Mr. Mounk's subject is very serious and yet he writes in an almost humorous style about his various engagements throughout his life with "real Germans". The book is easy to read (emotionally difficult, but easy to read) and really shows the intersection of historical currents with ordinary lives lived.
June 23, 2022
I was familiar with Yascha Mounk mainly from seeing people dunk on him on Twitter. None of his family backstory that he tells in this book was known to me prior to reading, and some of it can hold the reader's interest for a time, but Mounk seems to frequently lose the thread of his own history and offers a lot of weird equivocation that feels like it belongs more in a journal or diary than in a published book.
The attitudes of modern German people toward the country's Nazi history is an interesting topic and the book can be engaging as it discusses the history of post-war politics in Germany, and its continuity with the Nazi as well as efforts to effect a clear break from the time. Mounk could have produced a 20-page paper on this theme and it may have been good reading.
His personal anecdotes, which are liberally sprinkled into the text, are given a much larger emphasis that seems earned. Mounk feels like he is trying exceedingly hard to balance anti-Semitic incidents he experienced with instances of people being...too nice, I guess? That anti-Semitic incidents and "people being overly nice to try not to offend" are not equivalent experiences seems pretty obvious to me. The content of latter types of stories are things like listening to someone give an seemingly unwarranted defense of Woody Allen at a party, because the person assumes that Mounk will wish to stand up for his fellow Jew. Buddy, you don't need to be in Germany to hear people giving bad defenses of Woody Allen.
This overriding desire for balance just seemed very strange to me, and did a lot to sour my experience with the entire text. I would add that even though the text is only something like 250 pages, it does seem to drag on especially in the second half of the book. Perhaps I am being too harsh, but this project would have been better served as being a series of essays on some progressive website or one chapter in a book on the subject rather than as an entire stand-alone text.
The attitudes of modern German people toward the country's Nazi history is an interesting topic and the book can be engaging as it discusses the history of post-war politics in Germany, and its continuity with the Nazi as well as efforts to effect a clear break from the time. Mounk could have produced a 20-page paper on this theme and it may have been good reading.
His personal anecdotes, which are liberally sprinkled into the text, are given a much larger emphasis that seems earned. Mounk feels like he is trying exceedingly hard to balance anti-Semitic incidents he experienced with instances of people being...too nice, I guess? That anti-Semitic incidents and "people being overly nice to try not to offend" are not equivalent experiences seems pretty obvious to me. The content of latter types of stories are things like listening to someone give an seemingly unwarranted defense of Woody Allen at a party, because the person assumes that Mounk will wish to stand up for his fellow Jew. Buddy, you don't need to be in Germany to hear people giving bad defenses of Woody Allen.
This overriding desire for balance just seemed very strange to me, and did a lot to sour my experience with the entire text. I would add that even though the text is only something like 250 pages, it does seem to drag on especially in the second half of the book. Perhaps I am being too harsh, but this project would have been better served as being a series of essays on some progressive website or one chapter in a book on the subject rather than as an entire stand-alone text.
August 19, 2020
I picked this up because I was wondering about the narrative of Third Reich Germany between the SS and Jews and those who helped them. This book spent a lot of time exploring the history after WWII, and how each generation understood this time period and processed this guilt. The author also discusses some of his experiences as a Jewish person growing up in Germany. I think this book is worth a read.
November 20, 2018
Not sure if he should have digressed quite as far as he did into analysis of racial tension in the US compared to being Jewish in Germany, but I see where he was going. Definitely opened my eyes to a lot of history I was not aware of
May 19, 2024
I found this to be an only intermittently convincing story of the author's feeling of alienation in today's Germany. It seemed to me that a fair amount of what Mounk experienced were vicissitudes that pretty much all of us encounter to one degree or another in a frequently unfair world.
February 16, 2019
Right the wrongs of the past ! ? !
Respectful / awkward
Needed perspective!
Respectful / awkward
Needed perspective!
March 18, 2016
Mounk stellt Deutschland dar als gefangen zwischen Antisemitismus und Philosemitismus.
Er ist dabei zugegebenermaßen in den Details nicht immer ganz korrekt (z.B. die Beschreibung der Flugzeugentführung durch Wilfried Böse. Was Mounk erzählt stimmt nur bedingt. Die Teilung der Passagiere fand nicht in Juden und Nicht-Juden statt, sondern in Israelis und Nicht-Israelis, vgl. http://www.haaretz.com/surviving-the-...), betraf also eine politische und nicht eine religiöse oder ethnische Kategorie.
Er beschreibt dabei durchaus interessante Gedanken: so ist es nicht wirklich entscheidend, ob z.B: Zadek seine Erfolge einem übertriebenen Philosemitismus zu verdanken hatte, sondern die Tatsache, dass er sich diese Frage gestellt hat und sich damit nicht sicher sein konnte nur für seine Erfolge gelobt und nur für seine Misserfolge kritisiert worden zu sein.
Im zweiten Teil folgt in der englischen Ausgabe eine Lobeshymne auf New York, in der deutschen ein kritischer Blick auf die (Außen-)Politik, der sich letztendlich um den Kern dreht, dass „Wenn wir ein Deutschland schaffen wollen, in dem Juden sich langfristig wohlfühlen, [...] wir ein Deutschland schaffen [müssen], in dem dies auch Menschen tun können, die aus der Türkei, aus Nigeria oder aus Vietnam stammen.“ und dass die „Entscheidung gegen die Migration […] de facto eine Entscheidung gegen das wirtschaftliche Wachstum und gegen den Sozialstaat [ist].“
Damit ist diese Lektüre trotz kleinerer aber eine Empfehlung wert und angenehm geschrieben.
Er ist dabei zugegebenermaßen in den Details nicht immer ganz korrekt (z.B. die Beschreibung der Flugzeugentführung durch Wilfried Böse. Was Mounk erzählt stimmt nur bedingt. Die Teilung der Passagiere fand nicht in Juden und Nicht-Juden statt, sondern in Israelis und Nicht-Israelis, vgl. http://www.haaretz.com/surviving-the-...), betraf also eine politische und nicht eine religiöse oder ethnische Kategorie.
Er beschreibt dabei durchaus interessante Gedanken: so ist es nicht wirklich entscheidend, ob z.B: Zadek seine Erfolge einem übertriebenen Philosemitismus zu verdanken hatte, sondern die Tatsache, dass er sich diese Frage gestellt hat und sich damit nicht sicher sein konnte nur für seine Erfolge gelobt und nur für seine Misserfolge kritisiert worden zu sein.
Im zweiten Teil folgt in der englischen Ausgabe eine Lobeshymne auf New York, in der deutschen ein kritischer Blick auf die (Außen-)Politik, der sich letztendlich um den Kern dreht, dass „Wenn wir ein Deutschland schaffen wollen, in dem Juden sich langfristig wohlfühlen, [...] wir ein Deutschland schaffen [müssen], in dem dies auch Menschen tun können, die aus der Türkei, aus Nigeria oder aus Vietnam stammen.“ und dass die „Entscheidung gegen die Migration […] de facto eine Entscheidung gegen das wirtschaftliche Wachstum und gegen den Sozialstaat [ist].“
Damit ist diese Lektüre trotz kleinerer aber eine Empfehlung wert und angenehm geschrieben.
March 11, 2016
The author takes the rare privilege of his unique standpoint to open a window into German culture. This was especially appreciated given my own background. Most readers may not be as intimately concerned with postwar German politics, but this very personal but at the same time thoroughly researched and considered analysis is a precious gem.
January 27, 2014
Thought-provoking. Germany dealing with its past by either fawning on Jewish Germans or trying to find fault with Israel. The writing is engaging and lively.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews