Discourse about Women in Jewish Newspapers in Germany (1933-1938) and Serial Novels by Female Jewish Writers

Abstract

This article focuses on the discourse on the roles of Jewish women in society and family that was carried out in Jewish newspapers in Nazi Germany. Women were abandoning workplaces outside the home and leaving the best paying jobs for men. Many male journalists and com-munity leaders stressed the importance of the Jewish family, its traditions, and their religion for the survivors of the Jewish community in Germany. Women were not only caretakers of their families’ material needs, but they also acted as spiritual leaders who introduced the concept of Jewishness to their children.
The second part of the article shows how female writers at the time responded to this discourse in their novels. For example, the novel Mother of Six written by Adele Elkan focuses on the history of a single mother and her struggles to raise six children in the Weimer Republic during first years of Nazi Germany. Elkan’s novel offers a rebuke to the prevailing discourse and argues that widows and single mothers have a right to happiness — women should not have to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their children and families.