Reply To: Jews Were Protected From Assimilation By Being Despised and Uncivilized

mdd:

Scores and scores of Gedolei Yisroel were produced from the Greater Hungarian lands since the Chasam Sofer’s time there. Only a few handful were produced in Germany since Rav Hirsch zt”l’s time. This is a historical fact, not a debating point. Research how many Rabbonim each produced.

The thing about Rav Hirsch is, that it is no coincidence that his Torah Im Derech Eretz shitah appeared in the exact time and place that was the hotbed of haskalah. That having been said, everyone in the world agrees he was a great tzadik and meant whatever he said leshem shamayim and to be mekarev the people of Germany in his time, and he did an amazing job saving German Jewry from Haskalah.