I. Schöffer

J.C.H. Blom

R.G. Fuks-Mansfeld

This history of the Jews of the Netherlands and the role they have played in Dutch society was originally published in Dutch and widely acclaimed for the breadth of its coverage. It covers both the internal evolution of the Jewish community and its social, cultural, and economic interaction with the wider population. From the first Jewish settlements in the medieval duchies of Gelderland, Brabant, and Limburg to the Jewish community of today, the interaction between Dutch Jews and Dutch Christians has mostly been one of fruitful collaboration which only the period of German occupation from 1940 to 1945 was seriously able to disrupt. The contribution that Dutch Jews have made, and continue to make, to cultural life, to the economy, and to science is recognized as being of central importance to the Netherlands as a whole. The ten eminent scholars contributing to this book each describe Jewish life in a particular period, from the Middle Ages to the present. In doing so they consider the strains caused within the Jewish community by the effort to play a full part in Dutch society while maintaining Jewish culture, setting the discussion in the context of trends and tensions within Dutch society in the period in question. The circumstances of the Jews under German occupation and in the immediate post-war period are also discussed. The History of the Jews in the Netherlands is a definitive, indispensable work for the study of both European Jewish and Dutch history. CONTRIBUTORS J. C. H. Blom, F. Chaya Brasz, Joel J. Cahen, Renate G. Fuks-Mansfeld, Jonathan I. Israel, Yosef Kaplan, Peter Romijn, Ivo Schöffer, B. M. J. Speet, Daniel M. Swetschinski

The History of the Jews in the Netherlands

The present volume, number 15 of the Acta Historiae Neerlandicae - which have been appearing since 1978 under the title The Low Countries History Yearbook - is the last of the series. Economic reasons force the publishers to discontinue it. This is a matter for regret. Both the editors of the Yearbook and the board of the Nederlands Historisch Genootschap, under the auspices of which it has been published, are con vinced that the books serve a useful purpose. We hope that in the future more favour able circumstances will enable Dutch and Flemish historians to start a second series. We feel, however, that the Yearbook should not be allowed to disappear com pletely. In our opinion, one of its most attractive features has been the 'Survey of recent historical works on Belgium and the Netherlands published in Dutch.' It is the intention of the Nederlands Historisch Genootschal'. to seek means to continue this in another form, probably in that of pamphlets appearing every two years and written by the same, or a similar, group of experts. In that way we may be able to provide a useful service to our colleagues abroad.

I. Schöffer

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