Berthold Auerbach: Briefe an seinen Freund Jakob Auerbach

Berthold Auerbach’s letters to Jakob Auerbach rank among the most important sources in German-Jewish literature. Over a span of more than 50 years (1830-1882), the writer confided to his friend and cousin, a Jewish educator, about the events of his personal life, which were inextricably bound up with the problems of Jewish emancipation. Auerbach’s letters also paint a vivid image of his struggles as a Jew to secure an uncontested place in the literary and liberal political networks of the time. Jakob Auerbach published the first edition of the letters in 1884, together with an introduction by Friedrich Spielhagen, but it has never been reissued until now. This new edition, which includes commentary and indexes of persons and subjects, does justice to the renewed interest in this correspondence, fueled in part by two monographs (Kerstin Sarnecki 2006, Hermann Kinder 2011). The original Gothic script has been updated with Antiqua and, as a result, the digital version is readily searchable.

This book-series, initiated in 1992, has an interdisciplinary orientation; it comprises research monographs, collections of essays and annotated editions from the 18th century to the present.

The term German-Jewish literature refers to the literary work of Jewish authors writing in German to the extent that Jewish aspects can be identified in these. However, the image of Jews among non-Jewish authors, often determined by anti-Semitism, is also a factor in the history of German-Jewish relations as reflected in literature. This series provides an appropriate forum for research into the whole problematic area.

Die Briefe Berthold Auerbachs an Jakob Auerbach gehören zu den wichtigsten Quellen der deutsch-jüdischen Literatur. In einem Zeitraum von mehr als 50 Jahren (1830–1882) vertraut der Autor seinem religionspädagogisch tätigen Freund nicht nur Ereignisse seines privaten Lebens an, das unauflöslich mit der Emanzipationsproblematik der Juden verbunden ist, sondern entwirft ein plastisches Bild der literarischen und politisch-liberalen Netzwerke, in denen ihm wegen seines Judentums freilich keine unumstrittene Position eingeräumt wird. Die Erstausgabe der Briefe, 1884 herausgegeben vom Adressaten und mit einer Einleitung von Friedrich Spielhagen versehen, wird mit dieser Edition erstmalig neu aufgelegt. Die mit einem Kommentar sowie Personen- und Sachindices versehene Neuausgabe in 3 Teilbänden folgt dem neuerlichen Interesse am Briefwechsel und seinem Autor.