Dr. Klein

I did not feel Dr. Klein adequately explained how the Jews of Hungry,Slovakia or Czechoslovakia identified nationally with their respective country.
The photographs she presented to the class were of Orthodox and Hasidic synagogues.This implies that Jews were at a higher level of observance,but what was their connection to national identity?How does a Hasidic Jew,with his Hasidic garb,believing in G-d and practicing an Orthodox way of life,possibly care to identify with a nation in which he is incidentally born into?The only nation a Jew can have an intrinsic connection to is the land of Israel.Dr. Klein was not clear about how the building of synagogues created a national identity for Czechoslovak Jews.Building synagogues creates a Jewish identity, not a national one!
Dr.Klein assumed way too much from her audience.For instance,we could have all benefited from a map depicting the shift of borders before and after WWII.The map she used was confusing and not everyone is familiar with European geography.
Finally,I did not find Dr. Klein receptive to related questions nor could she answer them confidently without the use of her notes.When asked,"Why did the Jews have German names that did not correspond to their Hebrew names?" her answer was,"a persons' German name has no correlation to their Hebrew name." WRONG!!!!The German names referred to those written on the gravestone in a Reform (Neolog) cemetery.Oftentimes Reform Jews were the ones most willing to accommodate their Jewish lifestyles to that of the host nation.If Dr. Klein had done her research she would have known that Reform Jews used their German names as a way to assimilate to the nation they were living under.This was their way of identifying with their nation---but she did not say that.
Overall,I would have liked to hear less of what she discussed and more of the daily challenges and struggles a Slovakian Jew experienced,how their life differed from mine,and what hopes and dreams they envisioned for the future.