Dr. Klein-Pesova

I am not often one to be critical, but I too was dissatisfied with this presentation. The topic of Judaism in inter-war Slovakia could be interesting, but the discussion was too jumbled and did not mesh properly.  In contrast to our other lectures, this one was overly specific and not able to be broadened or applied to other topics. However, Dr. Klein-Pesova did have some interesting points and ideas. The idea of Judaism as a nationality and its ties to the Jewish identity within post-war developing states is an interesting perspective. In thinking of European Jewry, one tends to think of independent Jewish communities, not a collective identity. With the rampant effects of nationalism in Europe, it is no surprise that Judaism arose as a sudo-nationality. I was surprised at the information that Jews were very quick to disassociate with the Magyars and realign with the Slovakians as the transition from empire occurred. In the fall of an empire into different states, I would have thought that a strong, established Jewish community may have pushed for a region or area of their own. This was all taking place at the same time as a main push of Zionism was developing, yet there was no mention of Zionist activity in this region. The rise of religious community, i.e. the synagogues, mikvahs, and kosher slaughterhouses, didn't lead to any sort of push for autonomy. This lecture had some interesting topics and points, but it was difficult to understand and process.