Stranger in my own country : a Jewish family in modern Germany

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"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. 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"-- "A young man's story of growing up Jewish in Germany, navigating the fraught cycle of mistrust, guilt, and resentment that troubles a country still struggling with the legacy of the Third Reich"-- Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher.

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"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. 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"--
"A young man's story of growing up Jewish in Germany, navigating the fraught cycle of mistrust, guilt, and resentment that troubles a country still struggling with the legacy of the Third Reich"--
Provided by publisher.
Provided by publisher.

Content Note

pt. I THE PAST LINGERS -- 1.A Boy Named Jew -- 2. The Remnant -- 3. Silence, Reverberating -- pt. II THE TYRANNY OF GOOD INTENTIONS -- 4. Sweet Surrender -- 5. The Silent Jew -- 6. Failed Friendships -- pt. III DING DONG, THE JEWS ARE GONE -- 7. The Closed Season Ends -- 8. Poisoning the Well -- pt. IV THE PAST AND GERMANY'S FUTURE -- 9. The New German Question -- 10. The Rebellion Against Pluralism.