Mar

15 2016

Paul J. Schrag Lecture: Mirjam Zadoff

4:00PM - 6:00PM  

159 Education Building 1000 Bascom Mall
Madison , WI 53706

Contact Meggan Bilotte
608.890.3572
bilotte@wisc.edu
http://jewishstudies.wisc.edu/paul-j-schrag-lecture-mirjam-zadoff-shades-of-red-werner-scholem-walter-benjamin-gershom-scholem/

Paul J. Schrag Lecture: Mirjam Zadoff, “Jewish Intellectuals and the German Left: Werner Scholem, Walter Benjamin & Gershom Scholem”

Like many other young German Jews Gershom Scholem, Werner Scholem and Walter Benjamin were consumed by revolutionary fire during World War I. This lecture follows their enthusiasm for the Left and the turns they took after the end of the war, each in his own direction. While Werner Scholem become one of the most prominent voices of German Communism, his younger brother fulfilled his Zionist dream and emigrated to Palestine; Walter Benjamin oscillated between both ideologies without committing to one. These three exceptional biographies, as reflected in mostly unpublished letters, highlight the various shades of German-Jewish commitment to the revolution.

This lecture is sponsored by the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies and the Department of History, and made possible through the generosity of the Schrag family.

This event is free and open to the public.

Sponsor: Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies