The Invisible Wall: Germans and Jews: A Personal Exploration

by W. Michael Blumenthal

The Invisible Wall is one man's quest to understand the failure of the German-Jewish relationship and to explain the character and attitudes of Germany's assimilated Jews over a three hundred-year period. He found rich and remarkable stories in the lives of six Blumenthal ancestors--all of whom happened to be major figures in German-Jewish history. Jost Liebmann, an itinerant peddler of trinkets and cheap jewels who became court jeweler to the Brandenburg nobility; Rahel Varnhagen von Ense, whose Berlin salon was the meeting place of Prussia's intellectual elite; Giacomo Meyerbeer, a celebrated composer of grand opera who dealt with the antisemitism he encountered by ceaselessly striving for success; Louis Blumenthal, a respected businessman and founder of his town's bank; Arthur Eloesser, a scholar and literary critic in the heyday of Weimar; and Ewald Blumenthal, the author's father. Once a decorated soldier in the Kaiser's elite guards, he was later a prisoner at Buchenwald. By recounting the stories of these individuals within the historical context of three centuries, Blumenthal presents a portrait of German Jews from the birth of Christianity to the eve of the Holocaust, revealing how Jews of various generations tried but failed to pierce the prejudice that separated them from other Germans.

Genres: Holocaust, History

480 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1998

About the author

AKA: Michael Blumenthal

A graduate of Cornell Law School and formerly Director of Creative Writing at Harvard, Michael Blumenthal is the author of eight books of poetry, including No Hurry (Etruscan Press, 2011). He is also the author of the novel Weinstock Among the Dying, and the memoir All My Mothers and Fathers, among other books. Currently Visiting Professor of Law at the West Virginia University College of Law, he lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Hegymagas, Hungary.

Reviews

[Jose V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who enjoys history, I thought that this book was amazing. It's about Michael Blumenthal's Jewish heritage and how they became who hey are today. He begins with questions of the beginning of the Jewish culture and who they were before the hate that was to befall them.
With these questions he begins to find his ancestors whom many were a part of Jewish movements that paved the way for future generations. Such as Rahel who was able to live a life equal to other people. a life rather than a Jewish life even up to Ewald who had survived the Holocauast.
With Michael's elegant imagery he portrays the images of the bustling streets of Prussia and the panic that was Germany. His way of story telling makes the characters seem like they should be in movies rather than books.
Although some parts are a bit dry and i seems more like a text book. The excellent diction, tone and interesting characters it easily makes up for it.

[Robyn]

Reading Schindler's List, I am amazed that a group of people can be, throughout history, relegated to living in their own city within a city. This caught my eye today in the bookstore . . .