Nelly Elias

Examines the social and cultural integration of Russian-speaking Jews and Germans who immigrated to their respective historic homelands.

Coming Home provides an extraordinary glimpse into the social and cultural integration of a unique category of immigrants-the returning Diaspora. During the 1990s Russian-speaking Jews and Germans returned to their respective historic homelands. Nelly Elias explores the social and cultural adaptation of these two groups by focusing on the roles played by their native language-Russian-and the language used by the media of each country. Based on one hundred in-depth interviews conducted with immigrants now living in both Israel and Germany, Coming Home considers media use to be an inseparable part of an immigrant's adaptation strategy, simultaneously reflecting construction of a new social and cultural identity while also preserving their original cultural identities.