Holocaust Survivors in Postwar Germany, 1945–1957

This book give a voice to Holocaust survivors, using survivor memoirs and interviews, and focusing on the personal aspects of the transition to normalcy.

Margarete Myers Feinstein (Author)

9781107670198, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 July 2014

342 pages, 16 b/w illus.
15.5 x 23.5 x 2 cm, 0.54 kg

'This is a well written and carefully constructed analysis that has much to recommend it in providing an understanding of how the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust rebuilt their lives and their sense of identity in the postwar world.' European History Quarterly

Stranded in Germany after the Second World War, 300,000 Holocaust survivors began to rebuild their lives while awaiting emigration. Brought together by their shared persecution, Jewish displaced persons forged a vibrant community, redefining Jewish identity after Auschwitz. Asserting their dignity as Jews, they practised Jewish rituals, created new families, embraced Zionism, agitated against British policies in Palestine, and tried to force Germans to acknowledge responsibility for wartime crimes. In Holocaust Survivors in Postwar Germany, Margarete Myers Feinstein uses survivor memoirs and interviews, allowing the reader to 'hear' the survivors' voices, focusing on the personal aspects of the transition to normalcy. Unlike previous political histories, this study emphasizes Jewish identity and cultural life after the war.

Introduction
1. Bamidbar: in the wilderness
2. The living and the dead
3. The new Jewish man and woman
4. Guarantors of the future: DP children
5. Performing identity and building community
6. Out of the wilderness
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Jewish studies [JFSR1], The Holocaust [HBTZ1], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]