Minsk; the present capital of Belarus; was a heavily Jewish city in the decades between the world wars. Recasting our understanding of Soviet Jewish history; Becoming Soviet Jews demonstrates that the often violent social changes enforced by the communist project did not destroy continuities with prerevolutionary forms of Jewish life in Minsk. Using Minsk as a case study of the Sovietization of Jews in the former Pale of Settlement; Elissa Bemporad reveals the ways in which many Jews acculturated to Soviet society in the 1920s and 1930s while remaining committed to older patterns of Jewish identity; such as Yiddish culture and education; attachment to the traditions of the Jewish workers' Bund; circumcision; and kosher slaughter. This pioneering study also illuminates the reshaping of gender relations on the Jewish street and explores Jewish everyday life and identity during the years of the Great Terror.
#1649424 in Books 2010-01-19Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .60 x 6.00l; .85 #File Name: 0252076885240 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Award winning authorBy Kathleen ChristiansonImportant book by an outstanding writer6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. As captivating to read as it is scholarly and historicalBy Midwest Book ReviewFreeing Charles: The Struggle to Free a Slave on the Eve of the Civil War is an extraordinary chronicle of escaped slave Charles Nalle of Culpeper; Virginia; who was freed through force by Harriet Tubman and others. Freeing Charles portrays how he escaped through the Underground Railroad shortly before the American Civil War; and his encounters in the North. The entire incident involved one of the most severe anti-slavery riots outside of Harpers Ferry. Freeing Charles is more than a dry historical rendition; author Scott Christianson also portrays the slavery culture in Virginia; and the political and psychological forces driving Charles' dramatic true story. A snapshot of the borderline between rule of law and violent opposition to the culture of slavery; Freeing Charles is as captivating to read as it is scholarly and historical. Highly recommended.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. An awsome bookBy James L HolmesMr. Christianson's book is an extra ordinary book compiled from an exceptional amount of research and relays information that is buried in history. Thanks to Mr. Christianson; many descendants of Charles have been able to obtain a vast amount of family ties; history and greater insight into a strange society!
