Living in Two Worlds
Diaries of a Jewish Couple in Germany and in Exile

The personal writings of a remarkable couple who lived parallel lives during the Second World War, surviving persecution and exile.

Else Behrend-Rosenfeld (Author), Siegfried Rosenfeld (Author), Marita Krauss (Edited by), Erich Kasberger (Edited by), Deborah Langton (Translated by), Richard Evans (Foreword by)

9781316519097, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 16 December 2021

370 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2 cm, 0.73 kg

'This significant book interweaves translated extracts from the letters the couple wrote and the diaries they kept during the war years of separation. It highlights the contrasting way those sombre years affected the couple.' Martin Mauthner, Journal of the Association of Jewish Refugees

This unique collection of diaries and letters offers a vivid personal account of the experiences of a Jewish couple living parallel lives during the Second World War. While their children left for England just before war broke out, and Siegfried soon followed, Else Behrend was unable to obtain her visa in time, and remained in Germany. This volume includes Else's account of her years of persecution under the Nazi dictatorship, and of her life underground in Berlin, before her eventual daring escape to Switzerland on foot in 1944. Her dramatic story is presented alongside Siegfried's account of his very different experience, living penniless and in isolation in England, as well as some of her letters to her close friend and confidante, Eva. Complemented by QR codes that allow readers to listen to Else's own voice from her 1963 BBC interviews. Published in English for the first time, Living in Two Worlds offers an unforgettable and moving insight into the impact of the Second World War on everyday life.

Foreword Richard Evans
Introduction Marita Krauss
Diaries of Else Behrend-Rosenfeld and Siegfried Rosenfeld, including Else's Letters to Eva Schmidt
Epilogue to Else Behrend-Rosenfeld's Diaries (1963)
List of QR Codes
Glossary of Key People.

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