Through an analysis of representations of Jewish artists in the works of GermanJewish writers this book reveals that the issue of a Jewish creative identity was one of the most explosive aspects of a dual GermanJewish identity. In the shadow of both a widespread antiSemitic stereotype which denied creativity to Jews and also of increasingly contentious debates in Jewish circles on the proper role of Jewish artists within German culture GermanJewish writers who portrayed Jewish artists in their works were forced to grapple with some of the most contentious questions of their day the relative importance of German and Jewish allegiance the issue of Jewish distinctiveness or its opposite expressed in style language and theme and the viability of a Jewish participation in German culture. Existing studies sometimes posit Jewish selfhatred or blind attachment to German culture and Enlightenment ideals as characteristic of a broad spectrum of GermanJewish writers. In contrast this book demonstrates how many GermanJewish writers possessed a profound awareness of cultural conditions and a conscientious desire to integrate the complex demands of a dual identity.