Stepmother Russia, Foster Mother America : : Identity Transitions in the New Odessa Jewish Commune, 1881-1891 & Recollections of a Communist / / Israel Mandelkern, Theodore H. Friedgut.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Academic Studies Press Backlist eBook-Package 2008-2015
• VerfasserIn: Friedgut, Theodore H.,; Mandelkern, Israel,
• MitwirkendeR: Friedgut, Theodore H.,
• Place / Publishing House: Boston, MA : : Academic Studies Press, , [2014]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Series: Jews of Russia & Eastern Europe and Their Legacy
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (215 p.)

In the late nineteenth century, a group of radical Jewish youths from Odessa attempted to create an agricultural commune on the Oregon frontier, and in so doing developed from assimilated revolutionaries to American Jews. Theodore Friedgut relates the story of these youths and their creation, with special notice paid to the human encounters within the commune, the members’ encounters with America in acquiring land and equipment—and, importantly, their encounters with their neighbors, themselves immigrant farmers on the American frontier. Among the volume’s central sources is the memoir of Israel Mandelkern, which is here published for the first time. This study addresses hitherto neglected aspects of Jewish life in Russia and of the life of one of the more than a hundred Jewish agricultural colonies, and helps us understand the factors that influenced the young colony members in their transition toward becoming Americans. This is a microcosm of the experience of multitudes of immigrants.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- List of Photographs -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: The Beginnings of Am Olam -- Chapter 3: The Birth of New Odessa -- Chapter 4: First Stop, New York -- Chapter 5: Beginnings in Oregon -- Chapter 6: William Frey: Background and Beliefs -- Chapter 7: Building New Odessa -- Chapter 8: The Culture of New Odessa -- Chapter 9: Fruition and Decline -- Chapter 10: After New Odessa -- Chapter 11: New Odessa: A Balance Sheet -- Bibliography -- Supplement: “Recollections of a Communist” -- CONTENTS -- Introduction -- Chapter I: A Cheder Teacher in Odessa -- Chapter II: Call of the Birthplace -- Chapter III: A School in Dubno -- Chapter IV: In the Movement -- Chapter V: Exodus -- Chapter VI: In the Promised Land -- Chapter VII: Communism Gained -- Chapter VIII: Communism Lost -- Index