Un adversaire ou un modèle ? La France vue par les Juifs allemands pendant la guerre de 1870-1871

Abstract

During the Franco-German war, it was not always easy for German Jews to justify their patriotic participation in the war. Fighting against France meant battling the first European nation that had emancipated the Jews and the example of which served to underline most of the claims German Jews were calling for in Germany. They could not deny that the civic and social status of their French coreligionists was much better than their own. Thus, French Jews, as well as those from other countries, often blamed their German coreligionists for, in fact, hindering their own goal of full emancipation. Some German Jewish authors stressed that emancipation had advanced a lot in Germany as well. In some instances they entered into a real competition with France, trying to show that the German way was the high road to emancipation. Others, however, referring to France, openly blamed Germany for its backwardness in matters of equality. Discussions of France and French Jews were always a tightrope walk for German Jews. If they paid too much tribute to France, they risked being described as friends with the enemy, which could cause just what they feared : doubts about their national loyalty.