De-Integrate!

A controversial, best-selling polemic in Germany, De-Integrate! is a battle cry against Jewish assimilation into a dominant culture that seeks to paint over the pastand a handbook for minorities on how to embrace their difference and resist rising nationalism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and racism. Max Czolleks De-Integrate! is a polemical, often humorous examination of Jewish life in contemporary Germany that speaks to the position of minorities the world over. Rooted in sociological theory, the book offers an engaging and approachable critique of Germanys much-lauded traditions of memory culture and Vergangenheitsbewltigungits successful negotiation of its Nazi past. Although modern Reunified Germany presents itself as having overcome historical trauma and integrated its now diverse, multicultural society, Czollek argues that this public image is merely a Theater of Integration: showcasing those minoritized stories to bolster Germanys positive self-image, while sidelining the true potential of the countrys radical diversity. Czollek posits that todays German minorities must embrace their differences and de-integrate from mainstream society in order to counter the rise of rightwing nationalism. On the one hand a stirring look at integration, belonging, and cultural diversity, and on the other a passionate denunciation of bigotry and virulent nationalism, De-Integrate! speaks across cultural, racial, and national divisions and points to a livelier future for all of us.