The First Ghetto: Venice and the Jews

Name: The First Ghetto: Venice and the Jews
Author: Alexander Lee
ISBN: 9781541608788

Alexander Lee

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Alexander Lee

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#3329 of 3,809 books · #1044 in History

Shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize (2026).

In the early sixteenth century, amidst the ruins of war and mounting religious hatred, the world's first Jewish "ghetto" was established in Venice. Constrained in cramped, often unsanitary conditions, the Jews who were forced to live there were extorted, abused, and subjected to countless humiliating restrictions. In the centuries that followed, the Venetian Ghetto would become the prototype for ghettos throughout Europe—and pave the way for modern antisemitism. But this is also a tale of hope. Against the odds, the Ghetto's residents thrived, creating a vibrant literary, musical, and religious community. They became essential to the survival of Venice itself—and as more Jewish refugees arrived, the Ghetto became a microcosm of the Jewish world. Tracing its story from its medieval origins to the present day, historian Alexander Lee explores the Ghetto through the eyes of its Jewish inhabitants, from the domestic troubles of a seventeenth-century rabbi to the agonizing wait of a family bound for Auschwitz. Authoritative, detailed, and timely, this definitive history shows what happens when war and economics collide with hatred—and also offers a powerful warning for the future.

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