Na Iminência do Extermínio: A Histórias dos Judeus da Europa antes da Segunda Guerra Mundial

by Bernard Wasserstein

Este livro se concentra nos próprios judeus e não em seus perseguidores, e demonstra que, ao contrário do que se acreditava até agora em termos historiográficos, havia uma crescente conscientização da parte dos judeus de que eles se encontravam à beira de um abismo. Na 'Iminência do Extermínio' recapitula as tristezas e as glórias da última fase da história de 2000 anos dos judeus europeus. Mostra as suas esperanças e ansiedades, relações sociais e criatividade intelectual, valores e instituições, música, literatura e arte - tudo o que tornava a vida significativa e suportável para eles. O autor introduz um conjunto cosmopolita de personagens - líderes políticos, boxeadores, rabinos, sionistas, donas de casa, empresários, mendigos, comediantes - e crianças sem futuro.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Holocaust, Jewish, World War II, Judaism, Politics

520 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Bernard Wasserstein is Allianz Visiting Professor of Modern Jewish History at the Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich. He previously held positions at the University of Chicago, the University of Glasgow, Brandeis University, Oxford University, and the University of Sheffield. He is a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

... the Jews of Europe tried to confront the threats facing them … they tried to leave but emigration exits were blocked … they tried persuasion, but few listened … politically they were weightless … any hints of violent resistance were met with overwhelming force … they were wholly defenseless, largely friendless, and more and more hopeless ... in the end, the European Jews waited for the barbarians

This is a sad book, describing in great detail the struggle of European Jews to come to grip with a fate they proved unable to avoid.

Here are some items among the many that stood out to me ...

*** German Jews (under Weimar) looked forward to the consolidation of more than a century of progress toward legal equality and social acceptance

*** the British 1939 White Paper on Palestine … Jewish immigration to be limited to 75,000 over the next 5 years … Jewish land purchases prohibited or severely restricted in large areas of Palestine … creation of state that would be neither wholly Jewish nor wholly Arab ... marked the end of the Anglo-Zionist alliance ... regarded by Zionists as a betrayal in their darkest hour ... enforced rigorously ... after promising to support the creation of a Jewish homeland, the British cravenly reneged.

*** Jewish politics in the 1930s was a quest for self-respect in a world where the word Jew was to many an insult and degradation

*** Zionists organized farm training schools in Germany and elsewhere to prepare young men and women for a life in Palestine … German government encouraged this in hopes of stimulating Jewish emigration … by 1938, 20 farms were training more than 5000 in Germany

*** in 1938, Marc Chagall painted the White Crucifixion in which a Jew, with a loincloth like a tallis, is martyred on the cross, while around him are scenes of pogrom, arson and sacrilege ... apparently this is now Pope Francis' favorite painting

*** antisemitism was a European-wide phenomenon in the interwar period … causes: Christian indoctrination fused with nationalism, rural-urban antagonism, traditional superstition, propaganda ... the problem was not just Germany … antisemitism almost everywhere on the European continent had risen to unprecedented heights … a Europe-wide phenomenon of stigmatization, expropriation, extrusion and bloodshed … Even before the outbreak of WWII, the Jew was treated as a subhuman, not only in those areas of Europe directly ruled by the Nazis, but over the greater part of the continent

*** foreign diplomats and journalists from the democracies reported on Kristallnacht in detail

*** 11 days after the Anchluss (1938), FDR called for an international conference to address the refugee crisis … despite the urgency, it took 3 months to organize …convened on July 6, 1938 at the French resort of Evian-les-Bains on Lake Geneva … the conference created an Inter-Governmental Committee of Refugees to negotiate with Germany an orderly exodus of Jews from the Reich ... over the next year, the committee produced a mountain of memoranda but no effective action ... the British insisted that immigration to Palestine not be raised .. The U.S. maintained its existing quotas

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent resource ... among my many notes ...

... antisemitism was a European-wide phenomenon in the interwar period … causes: Christian indoctrination fused with nationalism, rural-urban antagonism, traditional superstition, propaganda

... in Poland (and elsewhere in east-central Europe) … a lack of strong institutions between the government and its citizens … except for the army and church … both hostile to Jews

... the observance of orthodox Judaism began to fray in interwar Poland … Shabbos observance was no longer universal … plays were scheduled (and attended) on Shabbos or holidays … a profound change

... Marc Chagall … designed sets for Yiddish theater … in 1935 visited Vilna to attend a conference of YIVO … met Yiddish poets and drew the Great Synagogue …

... Dr. Viktor Kellner … Chajes school … last graduation ceremony in 1938 … Kellner: "I don't know what the future holds for you, But I can assure you of one thing. The world will hear the Shema Yisroel longer than Heil Hitler."

[Lorri · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War, by Bernard Wasserstein, is a compelling and intense study of the European Jews before their massive obliteration during World War II.

The non-fictional account spans every corner of Jewry, from the basic beggar to the wealthy, from the Orthodox to the non-practicing, from the intermarriages to the pure marriages, and from the varied social structures, both eastern and western. Jews are defined in every aspect, and defined in every location in Europe and Eastern Europe.

Ignorance is presented to be otherwise, according to Wasserstein's extensive research and documentation. Many Jews did have an inkling as to what was occurring under their noses. They did understand the seriousness of the events unfolding in the social stratum of their lives.

But, understanding and removing one's self from precarious and dangerous situations are not necessarily possible. Social structures, religious beliefs, family ties, homelands, separations, financial aspects, and the forces imposed on the Jews by the Nazis don't always allow for escape. The influences were more than immense.

Wasserstein is brilliant in depicting the lives of the Jews, their family ties, friendships, joys, lows, fears, and all of their daily living arrangements. The revelations are intense and filled with sorrow and, yet, a sense of meaningfulness and purpose of life unfolds within the pages.

You may ask "Why". But, before you do, try to consider the adverse and horrific situations thrust on the Jews. Try to analyze things with an open mind, not rose-colored lenses. It is not as simple as many try to make it. Knowing and leaving are two different issues. Knowing doesn't necessarily give you the tools to move forward. In fact, knowing can make it more difficult for a person. They might choose to deal with it by suppressing their knowledge, and by trying to live life with what they have and with what is not foreign to them.

No stone is left unturned within the harrowing accounts presented by Wasserstein in On the Eve. It is almost 500 pages long, and not an easy read. Yet, the impressions, presentations and word visuals are told with sensitivity to the situations and even with a bit of humor here and there. He is not harsh toward the Jews in his revelations, but, in my opinion, tries to state the truth, the facts, with clarifying seriousness. He writes with an awareness of others, and his responses reflect prose that demonstrates his insight. The historical factor is incredible, and opened this reader's eyes to varying degrees on the perspectives focused on.

Wasserstein is brilliant in his prose, his magnificent rendering of the European Jews is masterful in so many aspects. We, who have had ancestors from Europe will gain insight into the mindsets of those who encountered the horrific events of pre World War II and the Holocaust. The book is a work of humaneness and a work of art. It is a work of historical necessity.

I highly recommend On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before the Second World War, by Bernard Wasserstein to every one. I feel it belongs in every library, whether public, university, high school or personal library. It is a book with extreme historical value.

[cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A finely written and unique take on the fate of the Jews in WW2. The very title, knowing the history, gave me chills the minute I picked it up. Many of the chapters describe life for many Jews years before the war and the incredulity of many German Jews that their government could actually want them tortured and dead. I imagined how hard it would be for me to believe the same from my own country's officials. "This will pass....we can survive this....politics will change....we have friends and neighbors who will never let this happen". I would believe it too. This is an important and revealing book.

[Rosalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many great reviews on this site for "On the Eve: The Jews of Europe Before The Second World War." Like the majority of review writers, I recommend this book to those who wish to understand the Holocaust, and how a people across so many nations became the target and victims of the anti-Semitism, malice and inhumanity of Nazism on such a scale.

I note that some reviewers question the need for the author to present such a "dry and dusty" tome. The very subject matter of the book compels Bernard Wasserstein to present the facts and figures as he found them in his amazing research.

However if one wishes to understand the effects of the Nazi regime on a single community of people, then I recommend, "There Once Was A World - A 900 year Chronicle of the Shtetl Of Eishyshok" by Yaffa Eliach. Indeed I would like to see these two books being presented as companion reading material for all serious students of Jewish History.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazingly multi-dimensional historical treat. Wasserstein is not only masterful in detailing the complexities between various countries, populations and political movements, he simultaneously personalizes events by referencing individual situations. It is a powerful format.

Wasserstein also sees the historical and social relevance of including overlooked areas, like cinema, theatre, linguistics, business and education. This book sets a new bar for other historical works. I cannot wait to read it again.

[Nancy Stringer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bernard Wasserstein's evocative account of Jewish life before the second world war is nothing less than a marvel. Nothing escapes his gaze, from folk songs and nursery rhymes to mental asylums, classical concerts, youth groups and birth control. As he shows, Jewish society had a cultural richness and diversity to match any in Europe.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, tragic story about the history and culture of Jews across Europe in the interwar era. Due to numbers, much of the book focused on the prewar Tsarist Pale of Settlement.

[Ruth Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it helps if you're Jewish - check.
Living in Europe - check.

It's a very intense book, as it should be.

It's not a book for the casual reader, but even if you're as well-versed in the events leading up to the Shoah (as I've tried to be), there are plenty of surprises.

The sheer weight and detail of information - not just about the great & good, but also about the average Jew on the strasse, is like being smacked over the head.

This book tells you about individuals and the difference those individuals made.
And the gap in European society which was left, after they were murdered.

Imagine the US without Afro-Americans.
Approximately 10@ of Poland's population was Jewish.
Approximately 12% of the US population is Afro-American.
Check it out here if you don't believe me:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.htmlmy link text
After I read it, I felt the gap in Europe, without the Jews that should have been there.
And I felt an ache that will always be in my nefesh .


Someone on an English messageboard, suggested that European Jews would have assimilated themselves out of existence.
There's no answer to that - except that I doubt it.
But I can't face getting into an alternate history, about a subject which is so close to me.

Anyway, if you're Jewish and reading this, Chag sameach.
If you celebrating Easter - enjoy your festival.

Thank you for reading this .

[Steve Dyster · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, this is not an 'easy read', nor should you expect it to be. The author's knowledge and understanding are colossal; the breadth of his view panoramic; his subject much more intricate than I'd ever have expected.

Individuals appear large as life in the vast landscape. All aspects of Jewish life in Europe are dealt with. Analysis of this kind does not make things easy to follow without care; this s a complex, intelligent book. Work at it a little. The themes are clear and the detail fascinating. This is not a history of anti-semitism, it is a history of the Jews of Europe - continental Europe.

As I approached the last few chapters I could not help but feel that the tragedy of what was about to happen mad eye feel angry and guilty. I wanted to shout, "Do something!" at all those people who could not see. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Remember, though, many in the Jewish community felt that the future looked ominous; the author quotes Chaim Weizmann, "The World was divided in two places, those we wanted to leave and those where we could not go."

One of the authors main themes is that 'Jewish' culture and life was declining, increasingly disjointed, during this period. Another is that Jewish people were aware of this. That does not alter the appalling conclusion of the story.

In my opinion, this is historical writing at its best. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to understand more about Europe's - and anti-semitism was continent wide - recent past.

[Daniel Schotman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a good description of the period between the 2 World Wars and the situation of the European Jews. It, not only gives many examples of the high cultural contributions made by Jews, the condition and status of the Jewish communities in many different countries in that time, but also of its decline. A decline that does not seem to have been initiated by the Nazi's but rather speeded up as in many countries, long before the Nazi's came to power, Anti-Semitism was already a rife problem. What I liked about this book is that it was written from the Jewish side rather than from the German or Nazi side. Must of the information, details, and descriptions presented in this book are also discussed in other works about the rise of the Third Reich, the Holocaust, etc. Usually in this works the topic of this book are integrated and part of a bigger whole. As such, I found it illuminating that this book was only about the fate of the European Jews.

The book, though very detailed and scholarly is very well written and reads very easy. Though I have to say that I started it, put it away for a while and then completed in a few days. Recommended for people interested in Jewish History, the Interbellum, WW2, the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, etc.

[Matthew Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

This made for an interesting read on the realities of Jewish Europe prior to the Second World War. It certainly achieved what it set out to do, of this there can be no doubt although for me personally the format left something to be desired. The book focusses on several key areas in Europe with major Jewish populations and for me a better format could have been achieved if the author had focussed on each area in turn and examined the area in its entirety before moving on to another rather than jumping between the areas discussed and splitting the content according to topic. This was certainly worth a read for anyone interested in Jewish history but the format made what was otherwise an excellent work feel quite disjointed at times.

[Plonys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative survey, but little narrative pull and somewhat disjointed. Many fascinating details and anecdotes about intracommunal affairs (e.g. the clash between the Munkatsch and Belzer rebbes; circulation trends for Yiddish newspapers; the growth of the Birobidzhan autonomous region, and many more).

[Laura Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched informative sad and a reminder.

[John Hayward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly comprehensive. "Jews often preached unity but no less often they meant different things by it. Though the European Jews shared many social and cultural characteristics, they were riven by deep divisions." "All Jews might have been brothers but, in this as in other ways, theirs was often a fraternity of mutual contempt." "Some Jews believed that reason was the best answer to unreason. ... Some of the most spontaneous responses to anti-Semitism, illustrating how readily it could inspire fear or be internalised by its victims, came from the young. ... [when a seven-year old Polish boy reported that a Jewish shopkeeper's window had been smashed 'because the Jews are terrible, they're ugly and they're dirty' and his mother revealed that she herself was a Jew and asked if he loved his mother,] he responded: 'I would love her even more if she weren't a Jew.'" "Zionism, like all modernizing forces in Jewry, founded its ideology on a critique not just of the surrounding world but of existing Jewish society. Often the condemnation was harsh and unsparing, bordering on collectoive self-disgust that was sometimes a hairs-breadth removed from anti-Semitism." "Whereas most modernist Jewish ideologies placed a high value on labor, many of the strictly orthodox explicitly accorded it a secondary status: only Torah study was worthy of human endeavor, as opening the path to the messianic era. ... [the Munk cser rebbe] opposed all forms of secular education as well as modern medicine, technology, engineering, and architecture, since, after all, the revived Temple would be designed by God himself and 'handed down to earth fully built and completly decorated and appointed.'" "[Jewish writer and diarist Emil Dirian wrote in February 1938,] 'Under all circumstances, and especially the present ones, the Jewish writer, quite aware of reality, clings to an imagined integration into national life, while knowing that actual integration has been denied him'" [could perhaps equally apply to many of us Christians seeking to be truth and life in our own societies]. "Jews were like everybody else, Chaim Weizmann [Zionist, elected Israel's first President in 1948] used to say, only more so." "[The Jews of Europe] sought by every possible means, individually and collectively, to confront the threats that loomed on every side. They tried emigration, but the exits were blocked. They tried persuasion, but few would listen, and anyway the barking loudspeakers of Nazi propaganda deafened ears. They tried political organization of every kind, but they were politically weightless. A handful, even before the war, tried violent resistence, but their enemies could wreak vengeance a thousandfold?as the Nazis demonstrated on Kristallnacht. Some tried prayer, but their God betrayed them."

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without question one of the most important and interesting books I've come across.

The world that Wasserstein describes is one that has now disappeared and which is often omitted from the history of the SWW and the Holocaust. It was fascinating to read about the cultural, political, demographic and geographical situation of the Jews of Europe in the 1930s and to more fully understand the enormity of what racist policies meant in terms of the destruction of European Jewry. I would imagine that writing about this period is complicated with the knowledge of what is about to happen. Yet Wasserstein manages to create a narrative that doesn't fall into the trap of necessarily pointing towards genocide, even if the signs are perhaps there. The broad look at Jews and Jewishness across the European continent was fascinating.

This is a dense book, and incredibly detailed. I did at times skip certain subsections, but overall this is a compelling read and I think essential to understanding society on the eve of the war, how important Jews were in that society, and to understand the Holocaust.

[Hannah Scott-Ravikumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, sweeping account of Jewish culture and society in Europe just before 1939. It explores the progress made for Jewish rights in Europe and its subsequent destruction, as Jewish people themselves began assimilating, marrying outside the faith, and becoming less religious. This focuses on the Jewish people rather than their oppressors, and it's a stark reminder of the evil that can happen if given legality over a number of years.

[Nina Tweddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely give up on a book but this one has defeated me. It is so detailed that I got lost amongst all the names of people, organisations etc.

It is an excellent book but just not for the casual reader. For anyone conducting a study of the period - I thoroughly recommend it.

[Patrick Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thorough without sacrificing readability.

[Perlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engagingly written, but disappointingly full of negative tropes stated as fact. For a work by an academic, surprisingly sparse on footnotes. I appreciated the postscript of "what happened" to the people mentioned. Still worth reading.

[Don LaFountaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather interesting book about the Jews of Europe prior to the Second World War.

While there was discussion about Jewish history prior to the 20th century, the book mainly focused on the "interwar period" from 1919 - 1939, and heavily on the years of 1929 - 1939. One of the things the author points out in detail is that the plight of the Jews in 1939 was as much due to an internal collapse of the Jewish culture as to the external attack and hatred that permeated Europe during this time. One of the topics discussed was the infighting between the various factions, orthodox, Zionist, and leftist. One did not like the other and felt that they were the only group that should control the Jewish culture. In turn, these groups had various factions within them, which made it quite difficult for the Jewish leadership to agree on anything. The contempt shown to other Jews of different factions contributed to the collapse of the Yiddish language amongst Jews, which also negatively affected the Jew's identity, especially in Europe.

Besides internal strife in the Jewish community, there was much antisemitism throughout all of Europe, even prior to the rise of Hitler and Nazism. Some of the hatred came from Christians, who were following the anti-Jewish doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church. For instance, while condemning anti-Jewish violence, a Cardinal from Warsaw accused Jews of "offending Christian feelings, of propagating atheism, of publishing pornography, and financing Communism." This coupled with the blood libel teachings that started to resurface in interwar period added to the antisemitic feelings in Europe.

Politics were also another area that the Jewish people had limited representation. In some areas the Jewish group that was in political control did not represent the vast majority of the Jews. Countries were starting to take away the rights of their people and/or limit them to what the can do, where they can work, and who can work for them. The country that made the Jews feel the most "at home" was the Soviet Union. So it is not a major surprise that a large number of Jews embraced the communist philosophy simply because they were welcomed (for a short period of time) into the culture. Over time, due to stigmatization, hatred, and bloodshed, the Jews of Europe, ended up being a people that had no home. No one wanted them to come to their country, and countries only gave lip service to their plight. As their rights, property, and lives were being taken away from them, the Jews tried to pray, assimilate, tried political organization, and even tried to fight. As the author states: "Wholly defenseless, largely friendless, and more and more helpless, The European Jews, on the eve of their destruction, waited for the barbarians."

This was an interesting book about a topic that is not often discussed. How Nazism and antisemitism affected the Jews is, but not with the focus being on the Jews as this book does. The author shows that the Jews understood their plight and were aware of how a horror was descending upon them. Though sensitive in the way he wrote the book, the author does take to task the decisions of various Jews that contributed to their crisis during the interwar period. I think the book has a textbook feel to the reading of it. I also thought it was rather wordy, and at times it felt like it was droning on and on. But with that said, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys history, especially European history of the 1st half of the 20th Century.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one reads more about specific eras in history one comes to the realization that much of what we have been taught in school did not provide the complete picture and in many cases provided an erroneous understanding of the events in those eras. Such is the case with this book. While it is true most countries did not want to accept Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe and Germany some of that opposition was engendered by Zionists. In fact Zionists prevented Jews from fleeing Europe if they were not destined for Palestine or were not fervent enough. Jews were a divided people during this period (and still are) many tried to assimilate into the majority culture. Some were from families that had converted to Christianity. Zionists even made a deal with Hitler's Germany before the start of the mass murders. A lot of the top leadership of Judaism were at first helpful to the Germans by forming Committees under NAZI supervision to obtain information on the Jewish population and quietening their people.
This work also shows that not everything is black and white. Perhaps most interesting is the idea that Judaism was actually dying out in Europe as people left Judaism, sometimes by intermarriage, sometimes by conscience. Another factor was the declining birth rate among Jews because they were more likely marry at a later age and to use birth control.

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

After I had finished only two chapters, this book was recalled by another library patron. The author presents details about rivalries and animosity among different types of Jews - Eastern Europe versus Western Europe, Ashkenazi versus Sephardim, Hassidim vs misnagdim (opponents of Hassidim) and how this disunity affected the Jewish people's ability to survive the Holocaust. He also discusses the roots and different aspects of anti-Semitism. I hope to return to this book soon.

After ten years I finished reading this book. Here are some thoughts. The Jewish people of Western Europe had carved a comfortable social niche for themselves. They had become less religious. They had adopted the national language and largely abandoned Yiddish. They enjoyed the arts. They were educated and largely affluent. The situation in Eastern Europe was quite different. Poverty was common. Jews were isolated from the larger society. They faced greater instances of anti-semitism. As war approached, all Jews found themselves in similar peril. Refugees from Naziism found no refuge anywhere in Europe or America. Palestine was off limits to all but a few. The so-called chosen people were painfully aware of approaching doom. It is heart-wrenching to remember those times.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Admirable and rewarding for its scope and wealth of information. Lest anyone get the wrong impression from other reviews here or at the retailers, this book encompasses much more than anti-semitism; it provides an overview of broad swaths of inter-war cultural, political and economic life.

However, it did not have much of an overall theme or thesis. As a result, I think what we have here is more of a topically organized (and very readable) collection of data rather than a great history. Also, when I wanted to return to a few items after having read them, they were not in the index.

[Freyja Vanadis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure exactly what I expected this book to be about, but it didn't turn out to be what I wanted. There was a ton of information but it was written in such a dry, dusty style, I couldn't get into it. It never grabbed me and made me really get interested or excited to sit down and read.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

European Jewish civilisation in collapse even before the Nazi onslaught.
A moving book, which explores the emotions of a vast range of European Jews in the 1930s, who were suffering through internal decay amongst themselves as much as external persecution.