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Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2001
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Author
Emily Rose grew up looking at two large oil portraits
hanging above the fireplace mantel in her grandfather’s
home.
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Joseph David Berlizheimer
1761-1855 |

Gustel Kaz Berlizheimer
1779-1861 |
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Her ancestors immigrated to the American Midwest
from a south German village in 1857, and no one in her
immediate family had any knowledge about the portraits.
These rare paintings led Rose on a five-year journey to
discover her heritage. She uncovered a rich trove of old
documents, images, and stories that paint a vivid
picture of daily life in the villages and small towns
where over 90 percent of the south German Jews lived
until the 1870s. The story of the Berlizheimer,
Gundelfinger, and Kaz families is interwoven with the
economic, political, and social changes of 18th and 19th
centuries. While many books describe life in the shtetls
and cities, this vibrant living history chronicles the
experience of Jews who lived in the German countryside.
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Cloth, 350 pages.
ISBN 0-8276-0706-7. $24.95
Over 75 illustrations; maps, tables, family trees.
Research guide; notes, selected
bibliography, index.
Contents
The Discovery: Two
Portraits
The Story Begins: Setting Down Roots
New Times
Hep! Hep! Riots
Transitions
Moving Backwards
Changes in the Family
The New Jewish Community
Leaving the Schacher Jew Behind
Even Keel
Fighting for Civil Rights
Years of Turmoil
Shifting Winds
A German Village in Chicago
German Jews
And the Story Continues: Portraits of my Past
Traditional Jewish Life in the Villages and Small Towns
A Blueprint for Researchers
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Index
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