Freie Universität Berlin
Jüdische Konversionen im 18. Jahrhundert im Herzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin
The thesis explores the complexity of conversions from Judaism to Christianity during the 18th century, emphasizing Jewish lower classes in the duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, which is located in the area of today’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The main question focuses the eventuality of conversions as a pathway to improve one’s social situation. Based on detailed archival material (formerly left untapped) the study sheds light on the individual changes entailing one’s conversion in terms of integrity, work, and life in the new community. The study conjoins all jewish-christian conversions documented in the Mecklenburg archives which allows for detailed studies of jews bound to convert and their respective agency, (in)-dependency, strategies in order to make the conversion as smooth as possible. Of interest is also the question, if and how the converts entertained their personal relationships to Jewish friends and fellows after they had converted. In so doing it becomes possible to follow some of them from their location in Jewish spaces and communities through the process of their conversion and eventually their afterlife as Christians. Thus, the reconstruction of the social structure and the detection of the individuals within a social net is a primary topic of interest, whereby acting is understood as result of the interaction of the strategies from individuals.