Review by Choice Review
This work treats a little recognized niche in post-WW II Germany. Scholars have covered the big picture but neglected the way postwar Jews lived, related to their past, and looked to the future. Life for them as both displaced persons (DPs) and Jews included more than the search for food and shelter. They had to cope with isolation within the larger society; recovery of normal biological functions; medical care from former Nazi doctors; the disruption of life-cycle events due to the loss of older role models; and how to get by in a world nearly devoid of credentials due to the destruction of their communities and institutions. Feinstein (UCLA) emphasizes how Holocaust survivors "struggled to redefine what it meant to be a Jewish man and a Jewish woman." Jews had assumed wartime roles within partisan organizations that differed from prewar days. Partisans were men and women of action, and this new role seemed to fit well with the struggle to found a homeland. With a new and focused clarity, the author discusses the organization of the DP camps, the emphasis on education with Hebrew at the core, the creation of kibbutzim, and ways to memorialize and cope with lost family members. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels/libraries. D. A. Browder Austin Peay State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
