Future Prospects of the German-Jewish Society in the long 19th Century

Future expectations expressed by societies of the past help the historian to develop better insight into their state of mind and understand their modus operandi. The article is one in a series of articles dealing with future expectations of the German Jews and is dedicated to their expectations during the long 19th century. An important source are articles that appeared in the German-Jewish press towards the end of a year, the time for making prognoses. The main objects of collective expectation change over time and vary in the different groups within Judaism (assimilationists, Zionists, Orthodox). The main issues dealt with are the challenge of modernity, assimilation, demographic revolution, anti-Semitism and Zionism. With World War I the pattern of approaching the future changes radically.