LEADER 03965nam 2200613 a 450 001 9910966298703321 005 20230725051207.0 010 $a9780814337059 010 $a0814337058 035 $a(CKB)2550000000048134 035 $a(OCoLC)755621592 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10499857 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000537878 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11340578 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000537878 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10556713 035 $a(PQKB)10742556 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3416352 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse11067 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3416352 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10499857 035 $a(OCoLC)923509871 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC31349304 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL31349304 035 $a(Perlego)4160363 035 $a(EXLCZ)992550000000048134 100 $a20101116d2011 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe independent orders of B'nai B'rith and True Sisters $epioneers of a new Jewish identity, 1843-1914 /$fCornelia Wilhelm ; translated by Alan Nothnagle and Sarah Wobick 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aDetroit $cWayne State University Press$dc2011 215 $a1 online resource (375 p.) 300 $aTranslation of: Deutsche Juden in Amerika by Cornelia Wilhelm. Stuttgard, Germany : Steiner Verlag, c2007. 311 08$a9780814334034 311 08$a0814334032 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 330 8 $aExplores the roles of the two oldest American Jewish fraternal organizations in the process of American Jewish identity formation. Founded in New York City in 1843 by immigrants from German or German-speaking territories in Central Europe, the Independent Order of B'nai B'rith sought to integrate Jewish identity with the public and civil sphere in America. In The Independent Orders of B'nai B'rith and True Sisters: Pioneers of a New Jewish Identity, 1843-1914, author Cornelia Wilhelm examines B'nai B'rith, and the closely linked Independent Order of True Sisters, to find their larger German Jewish social and intellectual context and explore their ambitions of building a "civil Judaism" outside the synagogue in America. Wilhelm details the founding, growth, and evolution of both organizations as fraternal orders and examines how they served as a civil platform for Jews to reinvent, stage, and voice themselves as American citizens. Wilhelm discusses many of the challenges the B'nai B'rith faced, including the growth of competing organizations, the need for a democratic ethnic representation, the difficulties of keeping its core values and solidarity alive in a growing and increasingly incoherent mass organization, and the iconization of the Order as an exclusionary "German Jewish elite." Wilhelm's study offers new insights into B'nai B'rith's important community work, including its contribution to organizing and financing a nationwide hospital and orphanage system, its life insurance, its relationships with new immigrants, and its efforts to reach out locally with branches on the Lower East Side. Based on extensive archival research, Wilhelm's study demonstrates the central place of B'nai B'rith in the formation and propagation of a uniquely American Jewish identity. The Independent Orders of B'nai B'rith and True Sisters will interest all scholars of Jewish history, B'nai B'rith and True Sisters members, and readers interested in American history. 606 $aJews, German$zUnited States 615 0$aJews, German 676 $a943/.004924073 700 $aWilhelm$b Cornelia$f1964-$01800872 701 $aNothnagle$b Alan L.$f1962-$01806065 701 $aWobick$b Sarah$01806066 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910966298703321 996 $aThe independent orders of B'nai B'rith and True Sisters$94355009 997 $aUNINA