The Home Not Taken: Israel in the Literature of "Kontingentflüchtlinge"
Research project
In recent years, a distinct group of Jewish authors born in the former Soviet Union has had a significant impact on the German literary landscape. Writers such as Lena Gorelik, Wladimir Kaminer, Olga Grjasnowa, and Dmitri Kapitelman, who arrived in Germany as part of the post-Soviet "quota refugee" (Kontingentflüchtlinge) migration, frequently focus on Israel as both a real and imaginary space. In their stories, the recollection of immigrating to Germany often intermingles with memories of discrimination in the former Soviet Union and the yearning for the "missed opportunity" of immigrating to Israel.
This project examines how the Eastern Europe–Germany–Israel triangle is represented in the literature of the Kontingentflüchtlinge, particularly in comparison to earlier generations of Jewish authors. It aims to analyze how these literary depictions of the Jewish state complicate and subvert common assumptions about the place of Israel in contemporary German culture.
Bio
Dr. Ghilad H. Shenhav is a scholar of cultural history and religious studies. He is a research associate at the Department of Jewish History and Culture and leads the work of the Center for Israel Studies at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. In recent years, his work has focused on the relationship between Zionism and religion, as well as the perception of Israel in German culture.
At ZZF Potsdam he is Visiting Fellow in Department I: Communism and Society.