Life between Memory and Hope: The Survivors of the Holocaust in Occupied Germany (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare, Series Number 12)

The 250,000 survivors of the Holocaust who converged on the American Zone of Occupied Germany from 1945-1948 rose to brief prominence in the immediate post-war years. They envisaged themselves as the living bridge between destruction and rebirth, the last remnants of a world destroyed and the active agents of its return to life. Much of what has been written to date looks at the Surviving Remnant through the eyes of others and thus has often failed to disclose the tragic complexity of their inner lives together with their remarkable political achievements. Zeev W. Mankowitz concentrates on this community of survivors, its people, movements, ideas, institutions and self-understanding, how it grappled with the unbearable weight of the past, the strains of the present and the challenge of the future. These ordinary people lived through experiences that beggar description. In most cases they had lost everyone and everything and were now condemned to a protracted and debilitating stay amidst grim conditions in the land of their oppressors. Yet, they got on with their lives, they married, had children and worked for a better tomorrow. By and large, they did not surrender to the deformities of suffering and somehow managed to preserve their humanity intact. This is the story Mankowitz tells in Life between Memory and Hope. Over the last two decades Dr. Zeev Mankowitz has divided his time between Holocaust research and the training of educational leaders. His celebrated lectures on Issues in the Study of the Holocaust at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has drawn thousands of students from all over the world. In his latest project he is seeking to understand the relationship between history and memory and its implications for educational practice. This is his first book. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series-title 4 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Plates 10 Acknowledgments 11 Abbreviations and note on spelling and dates 13 Note on spelling and dates 14 Introduction 15 1 The occupation of Germany and the survivors: an overview 25 2 The formation of She’erith Hapleitah: November 1944–July 1945 38 3 She’erith Hapleitah enters the international arena: July–October 1945 66 4 Hopes of Zion: September 1945 – January 1946 83 5 In search of a new politics: unity versus division 102 6 The Central Committee of the Liberated Jews in Bavaria 115 7 The politics of education 145 8 Two voices from Landsberg: Rudolf Valsonok and Samuel Gringauz 175 9 Destruction and remembrance 206 10 The survivors confront Germany 240 11 She’erith Hapleitah towards 1947 277 Concluding remarks 299 Bibliography 318 ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS 318 A. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 318 B. ISRAEL 319 NEWSPAPERS AND JOURNALS OF SHE’ERITH HAPLEITAH 320 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDES 320 A SELECTION OF SECONDARY SOURCES 321 Index 332 This is the remarkable story of the 250,000 Holocaust survivors who converged on the American Zone of Occupied Germany from 1945 to 1948. They envisaged themselves as the living bridge between destruction and rebirth, the last remnants of a world destroyed and the active agents of its return to life. Much of what has been written elsewhere looks at the Surviving Remnant through the eyes of others and thus has often failed to disclose the tragic complexity of their lives together with their remarkable political and social achievements. Despite having lost everyone and everything, they got on with their lives, they married, had children and worked for a better future. They did not surrender to the deformities of suffering and managed to preserve their humanity intact. Mankowitz uses largely inaccessible archival material to give a moving and sensitive account of this neglected area in the aftermath of the Holocaust. This is the remarkable story of the 250,000 Holocaust survivors who converged on the American Zone of Occupied Germany from 1945 to 1948. They envisaged themselves as the living bridge between destruction and rebirth, the last remnants of a world destroyed and the active agents of its return to life. Much of what has been written to date looks at the Surviving Remnant through the eyes of others and thus has often failed to disclose the tragic complexity of their lives together with their remarkable political and social achievements. Despite having lost everyone and everything, they got on with their lives, they married, had children and worked for a better future. They did not surrender to the deformities of suffering and managed to preserve their humanity intact. Mankowitz uses largely inaccessible archival material to give a moving and sensitive account of this neglected area in the aftermath of the Holocaust Zeev W. Mankowitz tells the remarkable story of the 250,000 survivors of the Holocaust who converged on the American Zone of Occupied Germany from 1945 to 1948. Using largely inaccessible archival material, Mankowitz gives a moving and sensitive account of Holocaust survivors. In February 1945 the Allied armies began their full-scale invasion of Germany and on 9 May 1945, after the unconditional German surrender, declared that the war in Europe had come to an end.