Description: From Heimat to Hatred studies German Jews involved in ventures that were from the beginning, or became increasingly, of the Right. Jewish agricultural settlement, Jews' participation in the so-called "Defense of Germandom in the East", their place in military and veteran circles and finally right-of-center politics form the core of this book. The book investigates the inherent tension in the involvement in such ventures between sincere dedication to them and the apologetic defense against antisemitic stereotypes of rootlessness, intellectualism or cosmopolitanism. It asks at which point even a defensive commitment became no longer tenable.
Review Quotes: "This study fills an important gap in the scholarship by tracing the positioning of...German Jews on the political right....Nielsen's book is an important addition to our understanding of German Jewry for its examination of a lesser-known dimension of their story that is often left out of history books." -- Michael Brenner, American Historical Review
"An astute, well- researched study....Drawing on state and private papers from numerous archives and libraries in Germany, Israel, and the United States, Nielsen provides the granular details of the social milieus, evolving value systems, and the political enclaves that enabled Jews to embrace conservatism. His study injects a poignant historicity into the question of how notions of biological difference incrementally penetrated conservative practice." -- James M. Brophy, Central European History"Between Heimat and Hatred...provides a novel and illuminating analysis of the evolution of the political Right from the German Empire to the early years of the Nazi regime through the eyes of German Jewish conservatives. The book will be of great interest not only to scholars of German and modern Jewish history but also to those studying politics on the Right, racism and antisemitism, and the evolution of political identities in other contexts." -- Berenike L. Firestone, Nationalities Papers"It is almost common knowledge that the majority of German Jews during the Empire and the Weimar Republic were politically liberal. However, a significant minority held decidedly conservative or even right-wing convictions. Philipp Nielsen's book is the first to study this group. It adds an important element to our understanding of German-Jewish history and provides fascinating new insight into the fragility of the position of Jews within German society." -- Stefan Vogt, German History