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Pushing Time Away: My Grandfather and the Tragedy of Jewish Vienna
"What binds us pushes time away," wrote David Oppenheim to his future wife, Amalie Pollak, on March 24, 1905. Oppenheim, classical scholar, collaborator and then critic of Sigmund Freud, and friend and supporter of Alfred Adler, lived through the heights and depths of Vienna's twentieth-century intellectual and cultural history. He perished in obscurity at a Nazi concentration camp in 1943. More than fifty years later, philosopher Peter Singer set out to explore the life of the grandfather he never knew. Combining touching family biography with thoughtful reflection on both personal and public questions we face today, Pushing Time Away captures critical moments in Europe's transition from Belle Epoque to the Great War, to the rise of Fascism, and the coming of World War II.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
Peter Singer
186 books10.9k followersPeter Singer is sometimes called "the world’s most influential living philosopher" although he thinks that if that is true, it doesn't say much for all the other living philosophers around today. He has also been called the father (or grandfather?) of the modern animal rights movement, even though he doesn't base his philosophical views on rights, either for humans or for animals.
In 2005 Time magazine named Singer one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute ranked him 3rd among Global Thought Leaders for 2013. (He has since slipped to 36th.) He is known especially for his work on the ethics of our treatment of animals, for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life doctrine in bioethics, and for his writings on the obligations of the affluent to aid those living in extreme poverty.
Singer first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2011 Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” list of the 100 best nonfiction books published in English since the magazine began, in 1923. Singer has written, co-authored, edited or co-edited more than 50 books, including Practical Ethics; The Expanding Circle; How Are We to Live?, Rethinking Life and Death, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), The Point of View of the Universe (with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek), The Most Good You Can Do, Ethics in the Real World and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction. His works have appeared in more than 30 languages.
Singer’s book The Life You Can Save, first published in 2009, led him to found a non-profit organization of the same name. In 2019, Singer got back the rights to the book and granted them to the organization, enabling it to make the eBook and audiobook versions available free from its website, www.thelifeyoucansave.org.
Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. After teaching in England, the United States and Australia, he has, since 1999, been Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. He is married, with three daughters and four grandchildren. His recreations include hiking and surfing. In 2012 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest civic honour.
In 2005 Time magazine named Singer one of the 100 most influential people in the world, and the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute ranked him 3rd among Global Thought Leaders for 2013. (He has since slipped to 36th.) He is known especially for his work on the ethics of our treatment of animals, for his controversial critique of the sanctity of life doctrine in bioethics, and for his writings on the obligations of the affluent to aid those living in extreme poverty.
Singer first became well-known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2011 Time included Animal Liberation on its “All-TIME” list of the 100 best nonfiction books published in English since the magazine began, in 1923. Singer has written, co-authored, edited or co-edited more than 50 books, including Practical Ethics; The Expanding Circle; How Are We to Live?, Rethinking Life and Death, The Ethics of What We Eat (with Jim Mason), The Point of View of the Universe (with Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek), The Most Good You Can Do, Ethics in the Real World and Utilitarianism: A Very Short Introduction. His works have appeared in more than 30 languages.
Singer’s book The Life You Can Save, first published in 2009, led him to found a non-profit organization of the same name. In 2019, Singer got back the rights to the book and granted them to the organization, enabling it to make the eBook and audiobook versions available free from its website, www.thelifeyoucansave.org.
Peter Singer was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1946, and educated at the University of Melbourne and the University of Oxford. After teaching in England, the United States and Australia, he has, since 1999, been Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. He is married, with three daughters and four grandchildren. His recreations include hiking and surfing. In 2012 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the nation’s highest civic honour.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 22, 2021
Initially, my impulse was to relegate this book to the DNF pile. But my curiosity about exactly how the Anschluss affected Vienna and, more precisely, Vienna’s Jewish population kept me reading. The first introduction to the writer’s grandfather and grandmother was, to me, off putting. I simply could not relate to their interests and activities. However, as the narrative continued, I began to admire them for their dedication to family and their intellectual vitality. By the end of the this very affecting history, their victimization at the hands of the Nazis touched me deeply. I’ve read many Holocaust histories over the years. I am no longer shocked, though always saddened, by the atrocities perpetrated by the most inhumane army in history. I was surprised how deeply I felt for his grandparents, and realized that Peter Singer’s in-depth portrayal of these sympathetic people had, to my surprise, caused me care for them. This book has been extensively researched. The culture of fin de siècle Vienna was described in-depth. His grandfather’s involvement with the embryonic psychiatric/psychology disciplines, his relationship to Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler was fascinating. The description of their larger than life personalities and the conflict between the two was vivid. This book deepened my understanding of Vienna, the Holocaust and, an unexpected bonus, the birth of two fields profoundly influencing the treatment of mental health in the 20th C. I’m glad I kept reading.
October 9, 2021
An amazing book. Partly an exploration into the love life, sexual orientation and philosophy of his grandfather and partly a personal history of his family’s lives in Vienna in the early twentieth century and their treatment by the Nazis. Fascinating!
April 24, 2018
I found this book in a used bookshop in Jerusalem and couldn't resist buying it. I had read quite a few articles by Peter Singer, mainly about animal rights and other issues. He is an eminent philosopher, presently on the faculty of Princeton.
In this book, unlike is philosophical works, he tries to understand his maternal grandfather, David Oppenheim, a direct descendant of the eminent Chief Rabbi of Prague of the same name. Singer's grandfather was a secular intellectual, a teacher of Greek and Latin in the leading high school of Vienna, and the author of academic articles, an associate of Sigmund Freud and then of Alfred Adler.
Oppenheim died in Theresienstadt, though his children managed to emigrate, and Singer grew up in Australia. His book is based on correspondence that his aunt saved as well as on Oppenheim's published works.
Singer paints a convincing (though not terribly lively) and sympathetic portrait of a highly idealistic intellectual, a devoted teacher, and a man betrayed by the high culture in which he believed. The final chapters on his grandparents' desperate situation in Nazi Vienna are sad enough, and the earlier chapters about Oppenheim's exemplary service in the Austrian army in WWI are also nerve-shattering.
An underlying theme of the book, which could have been developed, is the vast difference between the profoundly serious idealism of the author's grandparents and the more cynical and rebellious attitudes of people born generations later. Since most of the book is based on his grandfather's letters, we get almost no outside perspective on the man, who must have been wildly atypical of his age, especially in his devotion to high culture and his belief in its values.
Interestingly, both David and his wife were strongly attracted romantically to people of their own sex, and they corresponded with one another about this before they though of marrying one another. Singer is puzzled and tries to understand it, but he doesn't go very far with this theme. Similarly, Amalie, his grandmother, was an orthodox Jewish woman, observed the Sabbath, and ate only kosher food, but her husband was totally secular and at traif food at home. How could they have lived that way without strong tension? Singer doesn't go deeply into this issue either.
There was a time when students of classics believed that the culture of Greece and Rome was ideal, but today we are too much aware of, for example, the fierce cruelty of the Romans, to hold them up as heroic models. Singer never tells us whether his grandfather was at all critical of the classical tradition, which he taught.
If David Oppenheimer had not been Peter Singer's grandfather, Peter Singer would never have thought of writing about him. After all, he is a philosopher, not a historian. If Peter Singer had allowed himself to be more introspective in print, he would have told the reader more about the emotional meaning to him of his family connection to a rather obscure Viennese Jewish intellectual - and he might have written more about his grandmother, Oppenheimer's wife, who survived the Holocaust and spent her last years with her family in Melbourne.
This should not be the only book you read about the Jews of Vienna.
In this book, unlike is philosophical works, he tries to understand his maternal grandfather, David Oppenheim, a direct descendant of the eminent Chief Rabbi of Prague of the same name. Singer's grandfather was a secular intellectual, a teacher of Greek and Latin in the leading high school of Vienna, and the author of academic articles, an associate of Sigmund Freud and then of Alfred Adler.
Oppenheim died in Theresienstadt, though his children managed to emigrate, and Singer grew up in Australia. His book is based on correspondence that his aunt saved as well as on Oppenheim's published works.
Singer paints a convincing (though not terribly lively) and sympathetic portrait of a highly idealistic intellectual, a devoted teacher, and a man betrayed by the high culture in which he believed. The final chapters on his grandparents' desperate situation in Nazi Vienna are sad enough, and the earlier chapters about Oppenheim's exemplary service in the Austrian army in WWI are also nerve-shattering.
An underlying theme of the book, which could have been developed, is the vast difference between the profoundly serious idealism of the author's grandparents and the more cynical and rebellious attitudes of people born generations later. Since most of the book is based on his grandfather's letters, we get almost no outside perspective on the man, who must have been wildly atypical of his age, especially in his devotion to high culture and his belief in its values.
Interestingly, both David and his wife were strongly attracted romantically to people of their own sex, and they corresponded with one another about this before they though of marrying one another. Singer is puzzled and tries to understand it, but he doesn't go very far with this theme. Similarly, Amalie, his grandmother, was an orthodox Jewish woman, observed the Sabbath, and ate only kosher food, but her husband was totally secular and at traif food at home. How could they have lived that way without strong tension? Singer doesn't go deeply into this issue either.
There was a time when students of classics believed that the culture of Greece and Rome was ideal, but today we are too much aware of, for example, the fierce cruelty of the Romans, to hold them up as heroic models. Singer never tells us whether his grandfather was at all critical of the classical tradition, which he taught.
If David Oppenheimer had not been Peter Singer's grandfather, Peter Singer would never have thought of writing about him. After all, he is a philosopher, not a historian. If Peter Singer had allowed himself to be more introspective in print, he would have told the reader more about the emotional meaning to him of his family connection to a rather obscure Viennese Jewish intellectual - and he might have written more about his grandmother, Oppenheimer's wife, who survived the Holocaust and spent her last years with her family in Melbourne.
This should not be the only book you read about the Jews of Vienna.
Read
December 29, 2012The author decides to investigate the life of his maternal grandfather, David Oppenheim, a man he never knew. Singer pieces together Oppenheim's fascinating life through family letters and papers. DO was part of the intellectual class of Vienna playing a part in circles that included Freud and Adler. He married Amalie, an intellectual of some estimation herself. Their wonderful life was shattered by, in succession, WWI (DO served and was twice wounded), recession, rise of Naziism and the German invasion. Amalie and DO were sent to Theresienstadt in 1941. David died there but Amalie survived joining her grown children in Australia in 1946. A story like thousands of others but nonetheless well told.
August 7, 2022
Pushing Time Away by Peter Singer is an honest portrayal of the author's grandparents, and their lives before and during the Shoah. His portrayal is respectful and caring, without covering up the blemishes. This book is a bit heavy on the philosophy, due to his grandfather's intellectual pursuits and career, but the story of people unable to comprehend that the country they loved was plunging down the path toward the destruction and outright murder of its citizens is just heartbreaking. I liked that the author doesn't judge them, especially using the knowledge we now have about those times, and simply presents them for us.
July 4, 2018
This book is long, interesting and pulls at the heart-strings. My grandfather lent this book to me to read while i was in Vienna and it was great to recognise the references of the places. The writing was kind of dry and the people described felt bland but it was enjoyable enough. The ending felt a bit lacking and the whole book lacked depth. I liked the historical aspect of the book and the description of the shocking treatment of Jews during and before Nazi annexation of Austria. Just a warning though: the Freud section of the book is quite explicit.
October 22, 2014
This book is essentially a biography of Singer's maternal grandparents; his grandfather died in a Nazi concentration camp, while his grandmother survived.
The book works best as a love story. The relationship between David Oppenheimer and Amalie Pollak began quite oddly: with David's letters about his homosexual interest in another young man. As David refocused his interests on Amalie, another obstacle asserted herself: Amalie was an observant Jew, while David was an atheist or agnostic. (They ultimately negotiated away this problem by having kosher plates for Amalie and nonkosher ones for David).
And yet the two had a happy marriage; how did they manage it? Singer does not think that there was romantic love between the two, at least not at first. Instead, David at first sought Amalie's wisdom, and the relationship grew from there. Singer writes: "if admiration of intellect and character comes first, love can follow, and passion too." (Singer seems to focus more on why David was attracted to Amalie than vice versa, perhaps because David left more of a paper trail).
Along the way, Singer tells us a bit about early 19th century Vienna: a society where Jews could rise to the top of any profession, but also a society where the longtime mayor campaigned as an open anti-Semite. One bizarre example of the society's anti-Semitism was the Jewish-by-birth (though Christian by religion) author Otto Weinberger, who asserted that women were naturally amoral, and that Jews were naturally feminine and thus amoral as well. Weinberger put his principles into action by shooting himself.
Singer also describes his grandfather's philosophical thought; however, I have to admit I often found this discussion a bit harder to follow.
The book works best as a love story. The relationship between David Oppenheimer and Amalie Pollak began quite oddly: with David's letters about his homosexual interest in another young man. As David refocused his interests on Amalie, another obstacle asserted herself: Amalie was an observant Jew, while David was an atheist or agnostic. (They ultimately negotiated away this problem by having kosher plates for Amalie and nonkosher ones for David).
And yet the two had a happy marriage; how did they manage it? Singer does not think that there was romantic love between the two, at least not at first. Instead, David at first sought Amalie's wisdom, and the relationship grew from there. Singer writes: "if admiration of intellect and character comes first, love can follow, and passion too." (Singer seems to focus more on why David was attracted to Amalie than vice versa, perhaps because David left more of a paper trail).
Along the way, Singer tells us a bit about early 19th century Vienna: a society where Jews could rise to the top of any profession, but also a society where the longtime mayor campaigned as an open anti-Semite. One bizarre example of the society's anti-Semitism was the Jewish-by-birth (though Christian by religion) author Otto Weinberger, who asserted that women were naturally amoral, and that Jews were naturally feminine and thus amoral as well. Weinberger put his principles into action by shooting himself.
Singer also describes his grandfather's philosophical thought; however, I have to admit I often found this discussion a bit harder to follow.
October 4, 2015
This was a very philosophical book, and therefore not really what I expected. I was hoping it would be more about their lives during the takeover of Vienna. I have much respect for the author, though for bringing his grandfather, a very educated man, to life for all readers.
September 17, 2007
A really interesting look at the culture of Vienna in the early part of the 20th Century (Freud, Adler, etc) as well as a poignant tribute to the author's grandfather.
May 29, 2015
'Enjoyed' isn't the right word for this book but I am in awe at what Peter (one of my heroes) has achieved. It's a truly wonderful way to remember his grandfather.
September 21, 2015
Fascinating peek into the world of psychoanalytic interwar Vienna.
Read
July 9, 2018This book goes with others about Jewish life in Vienna before and after the Nazi's. Also insight into Freud, Jung and Adler when they were thinking up their big ideas.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews