A chosen few : the resurrection of European Jewry

A testament to cultural survival describes the struggles of the European Jewish population fifty years after the Holocaust, explaining their reasons for remaining in areas of anti-Semitism and relating their thriving successes in rebuilding. A POWERFUL, DEEPLY MOVING NARRATIVE OF HOPE REBORN IN THE SHADOW OF DESPAIRFifty years after it was bombed to rubble, Berlin is once again a city in which Jews gather for the Passover seder. Paris and Antwerp have recently emerged as important new centers of Jewish culture. Small but proud Jewish communities are revitalizing the ancient centers of Budapest, Prague, and Amsterdam. These brave, determined Jewish men and women have chosen to settle--or remain--in Europe after the devastation of the Holocaust, but they have paid a price. Among the unexpected dangers, they have had to cope with an alarming resurgence of Nazism in Europe, the spread of Arab terrorism, and the impact of the Jewish state on European life.Delving into the intimate stories of European Jews from all walks of life, Kurlansky weaves together a vivid tapestry of individuals sustaining their traditions, and flourishing, in the shadow of history. An inspiring story of a tenacious people who have rebuilt their lives in the face of incomprehensible horror, A Chosen Few is a testament to cultural survival and a celebration of the deep bonds that endure between Jews and European civilization."Consistently absorbing . . . A Chosen Few investigates the relatively uncharted territory of an encouraging phenomenon."--Los Angeles Times "I can think of no book that portrays with such intelligence, historical understanding, and journalistic flair what life has been like for Jews determined to build lives in Europe."--SUSAN MIRON ForwardFrom the Trade Paperback edition. INTRODUCTION 2002 INTRODUCTION 1994 PROLOGUE: The Fifth Son m Berlin PART ONE T HE B READ Y EARS From Lodz to Paris Liberated Paris Liberated Antwerp Liberated Budapest Liberated Prague Liberated Poland Liberated Amsterdam PART TWO B ROYGEZ IN THE C OLD W AR From Lodz to Dilsseldorf From the Lowlands to Palestine In the New Berlin In Czechoslovakia From Moscow to Warsaw In Budapest From Moscow to Berlin PART THREE ’68 From North Africa In Paris West Germany and the Promised Land Passing in Warsaw Czechoslovakian Summer PART FOUR R ITE OF P ASSAGE East German Autumn In Budapest In Warsaw and Cracow PART FIVE T HE S ILENCE Belgium, On a Bank of the Yser In Antwerp In Paris PART SIX E UROPE , N EW A GAIN In Poland In Budapest In the Czech Republic The New Slovak Republic In Antwerp In Paris In Amsterdam In Berlin and the New Bananerepublik EPILOGUE: Freedom in the Marais APPENDIX: Jewish Populations in Europe BIBLIOGRAPHY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A READER'S GUIDE In A Chosen Few, Mark Kurlansky explores the many reasons why Jews have returned to Germany and Poland, and why Jews remain in Europe, how they have managed not only to continue their way of life, but to thrive and prosper. Through the lives of individuals both ordinary and famous, Kurlansky shows us the face of European Jewry - a face that may wear the scars of persecution, but looks toward a better future with hope and boundless determination.

A half century after the tragic events of the Holocaust, the world's Jewish population now equals its size at the beginning of this century. A Chosen Few is a testament to cultural survival, and the struggle of the Jews to remain a European people.