Full Description
For nearly a century, it has been a commonplace of Central European history that there were no Jews in medieval Prussia—the result, supposedly, of the ruling Teutonic Order's attempts to create a purely Christian crusader's state. In this groundbreaking historical investigation, however, medievalist Cordelia Hess demonstrates the very weak foundations upon which that assumption rests. In exacting detail, she traces this narrative to the work of a single, minor Nazi-era historian, revealing it to be ideologically compromised work that badly mishandles its evidence. By combining new medieval scholarship with a biographical and historiographical exploration grounded in the 20th century, The Absent Jews spans remote eras while offering a fascinating account of the construction of historical knowledge.
Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Chapter 1. Absent Jews: The Rise of a Truism and the Loss of Some Forefathers
Chapter 2. On the Frontier
Chapter 3. Archives at War
Chapter 4. A Ban on Jewish Settlement?
Chapter 5. Absent from Akko to the Baltic
Chapter 6. Absent Victims, Absent Violence: Persecutions and Blood Libel
Chapter 7. Beyond the Bulwark: Traces of Jewish Life in Medieval Prussia
Conclusion: The Wreckage of History
Bibliography
Index
