Origin of Ashkenazi Jewry

What is it about?

The book is a multidisciplinary approach to the controversy concerning the origin of East European Jewry. It explains that there is no evidence for the assumption that German or Czech Jews fled to Eastern Europe and formed the nucleus of East European Jewry. Furthermore, a German origin is demographically impossible. As to a Khazar origin: it is not possible to identify the descendants of the Khazars or to assess how many Khazars converted to Judaism. It is suggested that within Europe East European Jewry started in the region around the Black Sea and from there spread northwards.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

It is important because the book shows that there is no evidence for the most common assumption that East European Jewry originated from Germany (or Bohemia and Moravia) . It also shows that there is a difference between German-Jewish and East European Jewish historiography. This becomes clear when the German reference work about the Middle Ages, Germania Judaica is compared with the works by Baron, Weinryb, Ankori, and Stampfer.