Jerusalem on the Main: Jewish Integration in Frankfurt, 1914-1938

The First World War has generally been seen as a negative turning point for Jewish integration in Germany before the Holocaust. This dissertation challenges this “master narrative” of German-Jewish history through a local study of Jewish integration in Frankfurt am Main between 1914 and the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938. A closer look at local politics, cultural life, public education, and social relations reveals that Jewish integration remained strong and, in some cases, grew stronger in Frankfurt up until the end of the Weimar Republic. To a large degree, this was the result of deliberate efforts by officials in Frankfurt’s city government to enact policies which would support Jewish integration and promote a culture of “confessional peace” between the city’s Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant citizens. These policies included projects as varied as public-school curricula, street names, and local literature about the history and culture of the city. The dissertation also considers how factors such as gender, class, age, and religious observance impacted social integration. As strong as Jewish integration was in Frankfurt before 1933, the Nazi Party’s seizure of local and national power revealed the fragility of the foundation upon which this integration had rested. Nevertheless, the Nazis proved more adept at eliminating Jewish integration in certain areas than in others. While Jews were almost immediately removed from the realm of politics, it took time before the Nazis were able to end Jewish integration in public education or completely sunder the many friendships and professional relations between Jews and gentiles. The continued presence of Jewish street names until 1938 also reveals the longer lifespan of spatial markers which highlighted the rich history of Jewish integration and belonging in the city. Finally, and with an eye to the present, this dissertation argues that the story of Jewish integration in Frankfurt speaks to the important roles that local governments can play to enact policies that reinforce ideas of minority integration and belonging in the United States and other democratic societies.Doctor of Philosoph