The Jewish population of Europe was devastated in the wake of World War II. Millions had been taken from their homes, worked to the point of death, and brutally murdered. Coming out of concentrations camps, places of refuge, or some mixture of the two, the Jewish people had much to deal with in their lives. History done on the subject of Jewish displacement and societal re-entry has proven that the effects of the Holocaust were not only long-lasting, but far-reaching. The Jewish population had found itself picking up the pieces and reframing every aspect of their lives; from the political, to the cultural, and the economic.
Zionism played an important role in the Jewish world. It placed people heavy importance on developing a place where Jewish people could live without fearing the anti-Semitism that had become so prominent in the European world. Following World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust, Zionism was able to gain a significant amount of traction as anti-Semitism became crystal clear. Historian Gerard Cohen enters into the conversation from this lens. He argues that not enough emphasis has been placed on the “rise of Jewish nationhood” as a means to explain the development of Jewish focus on self-governance and independent existence (In War’s Wake, p. 149). It is within this context that Cohen evaluates the growth of the Jewish people as a separate population after the war to explain the growing emphasis on Zionism. Cohen demonstrates the political (or nationalistic) focus of the post-war reality for Jewish people.
Historian Avinoam Patt enters this conversation beginning in the same lens. He begins to frame the question of the Jewish population in terms of their ability, in the post-war era, to come together as a single cohesive political groups (“Living in Landsberg,” p. 107). However, as he enters the argument more and more, he begins to demonstrate that there was a significant level of cultural effects in the post-war era. The politically-oriented, society-building entity of kibbutz utilized cultural realities to try and garner support for their cause. Patt points out that through this entity, “in many cases, Jewish traditions were appropriated… in order to emphasize wartime heroism” (“Living in Landsberg,” p. 118). They were attempting to make cultural heroes out of an idea of Jewish tradition to make the Jewish people buy into their beliefs. Cultural manipulation was a strong tactic used in this period to gain support and also prepare people for the reality of Zionism becoming a tangible future.
Israeli historian, Tom Segev, takes the argument back in time to before the war. He discusses the issues that faced Palestine in dealing with the rise of the Nazi regime. He evaluates the different perspectives taken in the condemnation of the Nazi ideology and practice. All of this boiled down to a discussion of how to respond to the Nazi government. They questioned whether or not a boycott would be most effective, or if there was a better tactic to deal with what the government was doing. This pitted the Revisionists and the Zionists living in Palestine against one another. While this was taking the focus away from German or European Jewry, it still contributes to the conversation. It provides the economic understandings of the Palestinian society that would at some point have to give consent to the creation of Jewish state.
The Holocaust was a horrible event that devastated millions of people in a great number of ways. An analysis of the time period and all that has been said about it proves this reality. There was no part of the European Jewish life that was not in some way altered, or at least brought into question, in the aftermath of World War II. This far-reaching effect included changes and adaptations of thought surrounding politics, culture, and economics.
Notes
Gerard D. Cohen, In War’s Wake: Europe’s Displaced Persons in the Postwar Order (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 126-149.
Avinoam J. Patt, “Living in Landsberg, Dreaming of Deganiah: Jewish Displaced Youths and Zionism after the Holocaust,” in “We Are Here”: New Approaches to Jewish Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany, ed. Avinoam J. Patt and Michael Berkowitz (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2010), 98-135.
Tom Segev, “The Streets Are Paved with Money,” The Seventh Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust (1993): 15-34.
I really like the video you included, it highlights the complexities around Zionism and whether or not the State of Israel should have been created based on religious belief. I also think you brought up a good point about cultural manipulation since Judaism would be a part of European Jew’s lives but not necessary be their first identifier.
I liked the video it gave a very rudimentary understanding of an extremely complicated issue. It also seemed to gloss over the why of Palestine. I think you did a good job describing the arguments of each historian and the impact that each argument had.
I think the video that you chose for your artifact did an excellent job at applying to the discussion you created. Additionally, the content of your post along with the information that was excellent in the manner in which you were able to apply the two, good job.