Immigrated Russian Jewish elites in Israel and Germany after 1989

Dr. Olaf Glockner, a Senior Researcher at Moses Mendelssohn Centre for European-Jewish Studies in Potsdam spoke at the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies on Tuesday, April 2, 2019.

Description of talk: When the Communist Empire began to dissolve in the late 1980ies and early 1990ies, a great Soviet Jewish Exodus brought approximately 1 Million Jews to Israel, approximately 350 000 Jews to North America, but - surprisingly - also approximately 230 000 Jews to re-unified Germany, the country of Goethe and Bach, but also of Hitler and Goebbels. Most of the former Soviet immigrants, in Israel as well as in the US and in Germany, were highly educated and aimed to return into their academic professions. In Israel and Germany, the newcomers met political support and aimed to join the veteran elites as soon as possible. Though, the paths of integration in Israel and Germany appeared as quite different, and the Soviet Jewish immigrants had to overcome unexpected obstacles. The presentation will show similarities and differences in the integration of those immigrants in Israel and Germany, their expectations, success and disappointments. He also described some impacts on the respective host societies.

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