German Jewish Soldiers and the Celebration of Yom Kippur in Wartime: Patriotic Images and Jewish Aspirations

36 Pages Posted: 19 Jul 2021

See all articles by Edgar L. Feige

Edgar L. Feige

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Department of Economics

William Velvel Moskoff

Lake Forest College

Date Written: February 1, 2021

Abstract

One of the enduring themes in German Jewish history has been the deep-seated desire of Jews to be fully accepted as equals by other Germans, including the right to worship freely. Their conscription and voluntary service in the military during both the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) and World War I (1914-1918), provided an opportunity for Jews to demonstrate their fealty to the nation. Moreover, their requests for Jewish military chaplains were granted, enabling them to celebrate their traditional High Holy Days services. This article tells the story of Jewish religious worship on Yom Kippur during both wars as depicted by German artists. We examine contemporaneous accounts of the scenes depicted, and find that while some were accurate with respect to venue and mood, the most popular images of throngs of Jewish soldiers worshiping on open air battlefields were fictionalized images of events that never took place. These pictorial images, exaggerated, romanticized, and idealized, portrayed Jews as patriotic Germans, fully engaged with the wartime goals of the German government while practicing their unique forms of worship. German Jews and Jews throughout the diaspora clung to these images which became widely available on postcards, lithographs, and cloth wall hangings. They continued to be proudly displayed in Jewish homes as symbols of Jewish patriotism, until the end of World War I when blatant antisemitism falsely blamed the Jews for Germany’s defeat.

Keywords: Jewisch Soldiers, Franco Prussian War, World War I, Yom KIppur

Suggested Citation

Feige, Edgar L. and Moskoff, William Velvel, German Jewish Soldiers and the Celebration of Yom Kippur in Wartime: Patriotic Images and Jewish Aspirations (February 1, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3874144 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3874144

Edgar L. Feige (Contact Author)

University of Wisconsin - Madison - Department of Economics ( email )

1180 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706
United States

William Velvel Moskoff

Lake Forest College

555 N. Sheridan Rd
Lake Forest, IL 60045
United States

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