Some time after the Franco-Prussian War, an anonymous artist drew a commemorative depiction of the Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) services held by Jewish soldiers in the German army in the streets of the conquered city of Metz. The scene is imbued with the vision of emancipation and civic unity prevalent in 19th-century Europe, and holds up as a shining example the egalitarian treatment accorded the Jewish religion at the time. The verse “Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?”(Malachi 2:10) is written in German across the top. The work has been reproduced many times on paper and textile.
Shachar, Isaiah, Jewish Tradition in Art: The Feuchtwanger Collection of Judaica, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1981
Cohen, Elisheva, ed., Moritz Oppenheim: The First Jewish Painter., The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1983, English / Hebrew
The Jewish World 365 Days, from the Collections of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, USA, 2004
