What the heck to they mean by "assimilated Jewish parents" in the Hedy Lamarr article on Wikipedia?

Question

[I'm asking this on behalf of someone else.]


In this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr

We see this line:
"Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, the only child of assimilated Jewish parents."


What could the writer have had in mind with the word "assimilated?"

Answer 1

Assimilated means that the Jewish family has lost their Jewish self identity. They see themselves as part of the culture and nation in which they live. For instance, most American Jews see themselves as Americans first and then Jewish (not all but many). In WW2, many German Jews could not fathom what was happening because they were proud Germans and saw themselves as Germans first and then as Jews. A Cheredi community would not be "assimilated". They see themselves first as Jewish and simply live within the borders of the USA.



So what it was saying was that Heddy LaMarr was born to Jewish but her parents considered themselves Austro-Hungarian and that is how she identified herself. I am guessing she probably had no Jewish education (unless they forced Jewish students to attend Jewish schools in her time....I am not really sure when she lived but I know it was some time ago as she was an actress at the beginning of the cinematic age) and probably did not attend a Synagogue. She was no doubt a patriotic Austrian/Hungarian and would have identified herself as such, rather than Jewish.



One of the issues in Israel that while most immigrants are Jewish, they often were assimilated into their countries of birth and therefore Israel is a mish-mash of different customs, languages, styles of dress, styles of worship, culinary traditions etc. There was some assimilation into the countries from which they came, that they developed very different traditions

Answer 2

Home territory for me - all of my ancestors that can be traced are Jewish by blood. in my grandparents time some converted. My parents attended christian churches and married in a Christian church.

One name is "converso" - or Christianised - I married out and my children of course are not Jews.

Assimilation is an accepted word - the process by which a distinct social or racial group fades into the local population.

I can and do pass for a standard white person and behave in the manner of the local people - I have assimilated.

Answer 3

It way her mothers and fathers have been Jewish and were completed culturally built-in. That's... In all external ways, they have been like their gentile neighbors, in gown, habits, friendships, language, and many others. And so forth. This was once probably the case with higher type European Jewish families who had abandonned all outward manifestations of Judaism, together with religious observance .....Many transformed to Christianity. The Nazis nevertheless, might care much less, and did their satisfactory to eradicate them all, regardless of whether they regarded themselves still Jews.

Answer 4

In the old days Jews were frequently the targets of hatred and bigotry so many would assimilate or merge into the majority Christian society around them even going to Christian church services to avoid being targeted for their religious believes.

Answer 5

This may help to explain it some:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_assimilation

Answer 6

Here ya go...

Answer 7

they are now borg

resistance is futile