Conversion and Catastrophe in German-Jewish Émigré Autobiography by Abraham Rubin

Conversion and Catastrophe in German-Jewish Émigré Autobiography by Abraham Rubin

Conversion and Catastrophe in German-Jewish Émigré Autobiography is a collective biography of four German-Jewish converts to Christianity, recounting their spiritual and confessional journeys against the backdrop of the Holocaust and its aftermath. Focusing on personal testimonies that fuse historical trauma and spiritual illumination into one narrative, the book explores how Jewish emigrants interpreted their experiences of persecution and displacement through the hermeneutics of Christian conversion. It draws on autobiographies, novels, religious writings, and newspaper articles as well as unpublished archival materials such as diaries, lecture notes, and private correspondence. The book explores how chosen genres of writing both enabled and hindered self-understanding. It also assesses whether the literary paradigm of Christian conversion, highlighting an individual’s separation from a past sinful self, is suitable for expressing a collective catastrophe. Applying psychoanalysis, disability studies, and autobiographical theory to the life writing of converted Jews, the book offers new avenues for conceptualizing the Jewishness of historical subjects who disavowed their ties to Judaism. Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Abraham Rubin is an assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Dayton.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781487561093
ISBN 10	1487561091
Title	Conversion and Catastrophe in German-Jewish Émigré Autobiography
Author	Abraham Rubin
Series	German And European Studies
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Toronto Press
Year published	2024-12-24
Number of pages	214
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.