Rafael Seligmann's "Der Musterjude": A Master Parody of German-Jewish Führer Phantasies

Rafael Seligmann's "Der Musterjude" is a provocative parody of contemporary German-Jewish relations. It is anchored in the literary trope of the "verkehrte Welt" through which the author spins a wide variety of post World War II German Jewish contradictions and commonalities...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:German studies review 2004-05, Vol.27 (2), p.229-248
Main Author: Lubich, Frederick Alfred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
German literature
Holocaust
Jewish culture
Jewish history
Jewish identity
Jewish peoples
Nazism
Protagonists
War
Zionism
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Rafael Seligmann's "Der Musterjude" is a provocative parody of contemporary German-Jewish relations. It is anchored in the literary trope of the "verkehrte Welt" through which the author spins a wide variety of post World War II German Jewish contradictions and commonalities, ranging from German-Jewish stereotypes to inverted antisemitic prejudices, which the German culture industry retools into philosemitic marketing strategies. The latter elevates the novel's protagonist to the most celebrated Jewish journalist in Germany. Capitalizing on his country's recent fascination with its own fascist and Jewish history, the hero parodies both Hitler and Goldhagen in a sensational attempt to reinterpret Germany's Nazi legacy and mediate, like a latter-day Moses, a new national and German-Jewish identity--only to be thwarted and exposed as a false Jewish prophet.
ISSN:0149-7952
DOI:10.2307/1433080