Transnational Refugee Experiences and Networks

Session Submission Type: Panel Session

Abstract

This panel presents three papers that deal with different experiences of Jewish refugees across three continents. They highlight the variety of possibilities for Jews escaping Nazi Germany, focusing on opportunities for survival as well as the reach of Nazi violence and ideology. While some were able to find safety in places as far from Europe as southwest Africa, others made their way to the United States. Here, refugees continued communicating with friends and family both in Germany and across the globe, revealing their changing perspectives and emotions. Furthermore, as the example of Kurt Jacobs demonstrates, even the protection of United States nationality was sometimes no defense against Nazi antisemitism.

Sub Unit

• Holocaust Studies

Chair

• Rachel Blumenthal, The Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry

Individual Presentations

• Family Hierarchies, Family Separation: Refugee Youth, European Families, and the Holocaust - Daniella Doron, Colgate University

• Kurt Jacobs: German Jewish refugee and American WWII Soldier - Chana Kotzin, William Jewell College

• Polish-Jewish Refugees from Nazism in East Africa - Shirli Gilbert, University College London

Zoom Host

• Zoom Host 13