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In 1939, a new Yiddish journal was published in Paris under the name »Oyfn sheydveg« (At the Crossroads). The Authors, primarily Eastern European emigrés, embarked on a quest for an intellectually appropriate response to the political events unfolding before their eyes. Many contributors who were active two decades earlier as Diaspora Nationalists in diverse Eastern European Jewish political parties and institutions now explored new avenues. These included Zionism and Territorialism, but also a return to religious tradition and even to a pre-modern »ghetto life.« Unlike hardly any other literary document, »Oyfn sheydveg« sheds light on the profound crisis of these Jewish intellectuals and on the conclusions they drew in the face of the looming catastrophe.
About the author
Joshua M. Karlip is Herbert S. and Naomi Denenberg Professor of Jewish History, and Associate Director of the Center for Israel Studies at Yeshiva University, New York.
Summary
In 1939, a new Yiddish journal was published in Paris under the name »Oyfn sheydveg« (At the Crossroads). The Authors, primarily Eastern European emigrés, embarked on a quest for an intellectually appropriate response to the political events unfolding before their eyes. Many contributors who were active two decades earlier as Diaspora Nationalists in diverse Eastern European Jewish political parties and institutions now explored new avenues. These included Zionism and Territorialism, but also a return to religious tradition and even to a pre-modern »ghetto life.« Unlike hardly any other literary document, »Oyfn sheydveg« sheds light on the profound crisis of these Jewish intellectuals and on the conclusions they drew in the face of the looming catastrophe.
Foreword
In the Yiddish journal »Oyfn sheydveg« (At the Crossroads) the authors, mostly Eastern European Jewish intellectuals, came to the painful realization that the Enlightenment and modern humanism of European civilization had betrayed Judaism.
