The Jews and Germans of Hamburg The Destruction of a Civilization 1790-1945 [Paperback]

Based on more than thirty years archival research, this history of the Jewish and German-Jewish community of Hamburg is a unique and vivid piece of work by one of the leading historians of the twentieth century. The history of the Holocaust here is fully integrated into the full history of the Jewish community in Hamburg from the late eighteenth century onwards. J.A.S. Grenville draws on a vast quantity of diaries, letters and records to provide a macro level history of Hamburg interspersed with many personal stories that bring it vividly to life. In the concluding chapter the discussion is widened to talk about Hamburg as a case study in the wider world.

This book will be a key work in European history, charting and explaining the complexities of how a long established and well integrated German-Jewish community became, within the space of a generation, victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

Prologue Last Days in Hamburg  1. Earlier Times  2. The Shadow of the Nazis  3. Three How will it End ?  4. Courage in Adversity  5. Save Yourself  if You Can  6. Holocaust  Reflections.  References and Sources.  Archives.  Select Bibliography

This book is informative and moving; it is an impressive piece of research, sometimes close to a detective story, contributing to our understanding of the dynamics of the Third Reich. - German Historical Institute, Bulletin


...An easily readable narrative history, which is regularly enlivened with accounts of the fates of individuals and families who played significant parts in Hamburgs Jewish history...It is a valuable contribution to the literature on the history of Jews under Nazi persecution. - Andrew G. Bonnell, University of Queensland

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