parution: Who Will Rescue Us? The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America during the Holocaust (Yale University Press)
Chères et chers collègues,
J’ai le plaisir d’annoncer la parution de mon livre: Who Will Rescue Us? The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America during the Holocaust (Yale University Press) <yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300269963/who-will-rescue-us/>.
Le livre analyse l’histoire des enfants juifs réfugiés non-accompagnés, venus en France grâce au Kindertransport, dans la période de 1938-1942 et les tentatives de sauvetage de ces enfants après l’Occupation. Une partie de ces enfants est évacuée aux Etats-Unis en 1941-42.
Ci-dessous: une description en anglais.
Bien cordialement,
Laura Hobson Faure Professeure des universités en histoire contemporaine/Professor of Modern History Directrice du DUEJ (Diplôme d’université d’études sur le judaïsme) Centre d’histoire sociale des mondes contemporains (UMR 8058) Université Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne
Who Will Rescue Us? tells the story of a group of almost 500 children who for the most part survived the Holocaust thanks to Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and organizations that rose to the challenge of evacuating them from Nazi Germany to France on the eve of World War II, and from France to the United States, once France was occupied. As the first transnational social history of Kindertransport to France and the United States, it seeks to understand the motivations, worldviews and networks of both rescuers and “rescuees,” using an array of organizational archives, as well as children’s diaries, autograph books, letters, drawings, songs and poems, and about 50 oral history interviews. In addition to telling a story of rescue, this book represents a child-centered story of Jewish children’s intimate lives as they fled Nazi-occupied territories. By looking for their agency (even if we cannot always find it), we stop thinking of Jewish children as passive victims and instead consider them as subjects and actors in the Holocaust.
I hope the book will contribute to the field of Holocaust studies in the following ways: Instead of framing rescue as a story of heroic individuals, I argue here for a problem-based approach to rescue: to be saved, Jewish children had to be evacuated from Nazi territories. Who perceived the danger? Who rose to the challenge and how did rescue networks work, from a material and human point of view? By analyzing the rescue process as it unfolded, this book tells a complex story that defies easy generalizations and tales of “heroism.” While most books on rescue focus almost exclusively on rescuers and tend to consider Jews as (passive) victims, Who Will Rescue Us? proposes a more complex story. First of all, many rescuers were Jewish and thus also targeted by Nazi persecution. Secondly, “rescuees” —in this case children— were also important to the rescue process. As their sources reveal, Jewish children were surprisingly implicated in their own rescue. They quickly assessed what adults wanted to hear. They created their own networks with fellow children and caretakers. They perceived real dangers, and fought to be saved. Finally, this book takes into account the fact that rescue did not always work. Those left behind often did not survive to tell their story, and I argue for the need to remain aware of absent voices. Likewise, Holocaust testimony is mediated by place, time and multiple other factors. Our understanding of rescue and Jewish experiences during the Holocaust is thus inherently problematic, and must be approached critically.
On March 24 4pm (EST/21h à Paris) on zoom, I am honoured to present the book at the Wilson Center’s History Seminar www.wilsoncenter.org/event/who-will-rescue-us-story-jewish-children-who-fled-france-and-america-during-holocaust: you are cordially invited!
J’ai le plaisir d’annoncer la parution de mon livre: Who Will Rescue Us? The Story of the Jewish Children who Fled to France and America during the Holocaust (Yale University Press) <yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300269963/who-will-rescue-us/>.
Le livre analyse l’histoire des enfants juifs réfugiés non-accompagnés, venus en France grâce au Kindertransport, dans la période de 1938-1942 et les tentatives de sauvetage de ces enfants après l’Occupation. Une partie de ces enfants est évacuée aux Etats-Unis en 1941-42.
Ci-dessous: une description en anglais.
Bien cordialement,
Laura Hobson Faure Professeure des universités en histoire contemporaine/Professor of Modern History Directrice du DUEJ (Diplôme d’université d’études sur le judaïsme) Centre d’histoire sociale des mondes contemporains (UMR 8058) Université Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne
Who Will Rescue Us? tells the story of a group of almost 500 children who for the most part survived the Holocaust thanks to Jewish and non-Jewish individuals and organizations that rose to the challenge of evacuating them from Nazi Germany to France on the eve of World War II, and from France to the United States, once France was occupied. As the first transnational social history of Kindertransport to France and the United States, it seeks to understand the motivations, worldviews and networks of both rescuers and “rescuees,” using an array of organizational archives, as well as children’s diaries, autograph books, letters, drawings, songs and poems, and about 50 oral history interviews. In addition to telling a story of rescue, this book represents a child-centered story of Jewish children’s intimate lives as they fled Nazi-occupied territories. By looking for their agency (even if we cannot always find it), we stop thinking of Jewish children as passive victims and instead consider them as subjects and actors in the Holocaust.
I hope the book will contribute to the field of Holocaust studies in the following ways: Instead of framing rescue as a story of heroic individuals, I argue here for a problem-based approach to rescue: to be saved, Jewish children had to be evacuated from Nazi territories. Who perceived the danger? Who rose to the challenge and how did rescue networks work, from a material and human point of view? By analyzing the rescue process as it unfolded, this book tells a complex story that defies easy generalizations and tales of “heroism.” While most books on rescue focus almost exclusively on rescuers and tend to consider Jews as (passive) victims, Who Will Rescue Us? proposes a more complex story. First of all, many rescuers were Jewish and thus also targeted by Nazi persecution. Secondly, “rescuees” —in this case children— were also important to the rescue process. As their sources reveal, Jewish children were surprisingly implicated in their own rescue. They quickly assessed what adults wanted to hear. They created their own networks with fellow children and caretakers. They perceived real dangers, and fought to be saved. Finally, this book takes into account the fact that rescue did not always work. Those left behind often did not survive to tell their story, and I argue for the need to remain aware of absent voices. Likewise, Holocaust testimony is mediated by place, time and multiple other factors. Our understanding of rescue and Jewish experiences during the Holocaust is thus inherently problematic, and must be approached critically.
On March 24 4pm (EST/21h à Paris) on zoom, I am honoured to present the book at the Wilson Center’s History Seminar www.wilsoncenter.org/event/who-will-rescue-us-story-jewish-children-who-fled-france-and-america-during-holocaust: you are cordially invited!