Hidden Heritage The Legacy of the Crypto-Jews

Deals with the consequences of forced conversion, exile, and secrecy resulting from the Spanish Inquisition, particularly among the Latino population of the American Southwest. Presents a psychosocial study of attempts to recover Jewish spirituality and identity, stressing the role of women in cultural preservation. Notes parallels with the second generation after the Holocaust. Ch. 1 (pp. 21-41), "Secrecy, Antisemitism, and the Dangers of Jewishness", provides the historical background for the study of 20th-century crypto-Jews. Discusses the Inquisition's persecution of crypto-Jews, and continuing anti-Jewish prejudice in the Spanish-speaking world that has made the concealment of Jewish identity a continuing phenomenon up to the present day.