Unspoken Bequest : The Contribution of German Jews to German Culture
Clothbound, sewn, jacketed, 256 pages, 5.5 x 8.5", 1995, 1-878352-10-5
A Raymond Saroff Publication
A Selection of the Jewish Book Club
At a time when a resurgence of irrational concepts of nationalism and racial identity threatens worldwide, Unspoken Bequest serves an implicit reminder of the symbiotic value of cultural pluralism. The earliest Jews probably arrived in Germany with the Romans; by the 4th century their settlement in Cologne was substantial enough to receive the personal notice of Emperor Constantine. From such beginnings the history of Jewish communities within Germany assumes the form of a remarkable story of gradual social and political incorporation punctuated by intermittent repression and persecution, ending in our century with the Holocaust. During the 300 years prior to World War Two, however, virtually every sphere of German culture — philosophy, psychology, science, business, literature, music, the fine arts, even politics -- came to be influenced and enhanced directly by German Jews.
Although the outline of this history may be generally known, and certain outstanding figures in German Jewish history, such as Albert Einstein, are recognized for their far reaching contributions to world culture, the contributions of many other individuals have been forgotten, with their collective importance being diminished. In Unspoken Bequest, Hugo Munsterberg addresses this deficiency by recounting the achievements of German Jews in every major field of endeavor, including Martin Buber, Karl Marx, Erich Fromm, Heinrich Heine, Moses Mendelssohn, Rosa Luxemburg, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Walter Rathenau, and Hannah Arendt. Complete with selected bibliographies, this volume provides a much needed overview to an important aspect of European intellectual history; for students and general reader alike, Unspoken Bequest will prove an excellent springboard into this area of study.
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Hugo Munsterberg was born in Berlin, Germany, in 1916, and came to the United States in 1935. After receiving a doctorate in art history from Harvard in 1941, he spent four years in the U.S. Army. An internationally recognized expert on Far Eastern art, Professor Munsterberg taught at Michigan State University, International Christian University (Tokyo), State University of New York -- New Paltz, Bard College, and Parsons School of Design. His many books include The Landscape Painting of China and Japan, A History of Women Artists and The Crown of Life: Artistic Creativity in Old Age. Shortly after completing final revisions to Unspoken Bequest, Hugo Munsterberg died on February 16, 1995.
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