Diaspora: The Post-Biblical History Of The Jews / A Review:
diaspora is a book about the jewish history from before the expulsion from judea to the re-creation of the jewish state of israel. it's written by a german vicar in the 1960s and therefore falls in the wake of the crimes committed by the nazi state. it explains how 2000 years of persecution of jews in europe could lead to the catastrophic events of the holocaust. however, the book doesn't simply focus on the horrors committed against the jewish people in the name of the christian god, it also focuses on the tremenduous gifts the jewish people have given to the world. while it focuses on europe, and is especially detailed about the 19th century in germany, it doesn't ignore the jewish existence under muslim rulers in the arabian and turkish world.
i read the danish translation of the german original and while the language at times felt a little old-fashioned, it doesn't feel dated and is engaging throughout the book. the danish edition is split into four parts, with the last part written by poul borchsenius specifically about the jewish history in denmark.
while i knew a fair bit about, especially the early jewish history and the jewish history just after the rise of christianity, i learned a lot about the later jewish history in europe and the specific patterns of jewish immigrations to spain and germany and the patterns of expulsion and immigration, expulsion and immigration. it's a really, really good book that i would recommend to everyone because everyone should know about jewish history.
