Absent Jews

For nearly a century, it has been a commonplace of Central European history that there were no Jews in medieval Prussia the result, supposedly, of the ruling Teutonic Order s attempts to create a purely Christian crusader s state. In this groundbreaking historical investigation, however, medievalist Cordelia Hess demonstrates the very weak foundations upon which that assumption rests. In exacting detail, she traces this narrative to the work of a single, minor Nazi-era historian, revealing it to be ideologically compromised work that badly mishandles its evidence. By combining new medieval scholarship with a biographical and historiographical exploration grounded in the 20th century, The Absent Jews spans remote eras while offering a fascinating account of the construction of historical knowledge.