Jewish life in Europe has undergone dramatic changes and transformations within the 20th
century and also the last two decades. The phenomenon of the dual position of the Jewish
minority in relation to the majority not entirely unusual for Jewish Diaspora communities
manifested itself most distinctly on the European continent. This unique Jewish experience of
the ambiguous position of insider and outsider may provide valuable views on contemporary
European reality and identity crisis. The book focuses inter alia on the main common
denominators of contemporary Jewish life in Central Europe such as an intense confrontation
with the heritage of the Holocaust and unrelenting antisemitism on the one hand and on the
other hand huge appreciation of traditional Jewish learning and culture by a considerable part
of non-Jewish Europeans. The volume includes contributions on Jewish life in central European
countries like Hungary the Czech Republic Poland Austria and Germany.
