Laura Jockusch
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199764556
- eISBN:
- 9780199979578
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199764556.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Historiography
This chapter discusses several historical commissions in Germany, Austria, and Italy, three countries where between 1945 and 1949 large numbers of eastern European Jews temporarily lived in Displaced ...
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This chapter discusses several historical commissions in Germany, Austria, and Italy, three countries where between 1945 and 1949 large numbers of eastern European Jews temporarily lived in Displaced Persons (DP) camps under Allied occupation. Diverse in educational, social, and national backgrounds, most commission activists had endured the Holocaust in German-occupied eastern Europe. Unlike their counterparts in France and Poland, they did not primarily document the destruction of local Jewish communities but looked eastward to their countries of origin, which they had left either by wartime displacement or postwar escape. As they waited to establish new lives overseas, documenting the recent past provided a way to endow their involuntary sojourn in the DP camps with meaning. They regarded the historical material they gathered as preparation for emigration and Jewish life outside Europe, preferably in a sovereign Jewish state in Palestine/Israel, not as a path to integration into the societies outside their camps.Less
This chapter discusses several historical commissions in Germany, Austria, and Italy, three countries where between 1945 and 1949 large numbers of eastern European Jews temporarily lived in Displaced Persons (DP) camps under Allied occupation. Diverse in educational, social, and national backgrounds, most commission activists had endured the Holocaust in German-occupied eastern Europe. Unlike their counterparts in France and Poland, they did not primarily document the destruction of local Jewish communities but looked eastward to their countries of origin, which they had left either by wartime displacement or postwar escape. As they waited to establish new lives overseas, documenting the recent past provided a way to endow their involuntary sojourn in the DP camps with meaning. They regarded the historical material they gathered as preparation for emigration and Jewish life outside Europe, preferably in a sovereign Jewish state in Palestine/Israel, not as a path to integration into the societies outside their camps.
Bret Werb
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199367481
- eISBN:
- 9780199367504
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199367481.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music, History, Western
This chapter focuses on how the physical and psychological ordeal of displacement informed and inspired music-related activities among Jewish DPs, from the creation of a sui generis repertoire of ...
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This chapter focuses on how the physical and psychological ordeal of displacement informed and inspired music-related activities among Jewish DPs, from the creation of a sui generis repertoire of topical songs to the drive to collect ghetto and camp songs and the formation of touring performance ensembles. It examines the musical activity in the DP camps in Occupied Germany, particularly the musical repertoire that the DPs created and performed. Recovered from a range of sources–including archival collections, survivor testimonies, memoirs, printed and manuscript songbooks, as well as field and commercial recordings–these works reflect the frustrations and hopes of survivors as they attempt to envision the future and rebuild their lives. Emblematic of this repertoire is the Yiddish song “Vu ahin zol ikh geyn?”, generally regarded as the anthem of the surviving European Jewry. The trauma of dislocation motivated such repertoire, as well as the effort to collect ghetto and camp songs, and the formation of touring ensembles. These music ventures, many unexplored until now, offer insight into the DP experience and culture, and the ways in which DPs coped with the past, particularly the Holocaust and the loss of home through music in the immediate postwar period.Less
This chapter focuses on how the physical and psychological ordeal of displacement informed and inspired music-related activities among Jewish DPs, from the creation of a sui generis repertoire of topical songs to the drive to collect ghetto and camp songs and the formation of touring performance ensembles. It examines the musical activity in the DP camps in Occupied Germany, particularly the musical repertoire that the DPs created and performed. Recovered from a range of sources–including archival collections, survivor testimonies, memoirs, printed and manuscript songbooks, as well as field and commercial recordings–these works reflect the frustrations and hopes of survivors as they attempt to envision the future and rebuild their lives. Emblematic of this repertoire is the Yiddish song “Vu ahin zol ikh geyn?”, generally regarded as the anthem of the surviving European Jewry. The trauma of dislocation motivated such repertoire, as well as the effort to collect ghetto and camp songs, and the formation of touring ensembles. These music ventures, many unexplored until now, offer insight into the DP experience and culture, and the ways in which DPs coped with the past, particularly the Holocaust and the loss of home through music in the immediate postwar period.
Andrea A. Sinn
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- August 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780190912628
- eISBN:
- 9780190912659
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190912628.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism, Religion and Society
This chapter examines the path toward recovery of the Jewish community in the city of Munich after World War II. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, a small group of German Jews settled in ...
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This chapter examines the path toward recovery of the Jewish community in the city of Munich after World War II. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, a small group of German Jews settled in larger cities outside the displaced persons camps. Against all odds, these Jews began to engage in the process of restoring Jewish communal structures in Germany. The chapter considers the process of restoring and rebuilding Jewish life in postwar Germany as well as the tensions between Jewish displaced persons, German Jews, and international Jewish organizations over the question of whether to remain or to leave. It suggests that the path toward recovery of the Jewish community in the Federal Republic of Germany was made possible by the emergence of a group identity among the so-called stayers and a change in mindset regarding Jewish life in Germany within the global Jewish community.Less
This chapter examines the path toward recovery of the Jewish community in the city of Munich after World War II. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, a small group of German Jews settled in larger cities outside the displaced persons camps. Against all odds, these Jews began to engage in the process of restoring Jewish communal structures in Germany. The chapter considers the process of restoring and rebuilding Jewish life in postwar Germany as well as the tensions between Jewish displaced persons, German Jews, and international Jewish organizations over the question of whether to remain or to leave. It suggests that the path toward recovery of the Jewish community in the Federal Republic of Germany was made possible by the emergence of a group identity among the so-called stayers and a change in mindset regarding Jewish life in Germany within the global Jewish community.
Zoë Waxman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199608683
- eISBN:
- 9780191829109
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199608683.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Cultural History
The final chapter explores Jewish life in the Displaced Persons (DP) camps. Whilst the Nazis had plunged everything into the wholesale murder of every Jewish man, woman, and child in occupied Europe, ...
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The final chapter explores Jewish life in the Displaced Persons (DP) camps. Whilst the Nazis had plunged everything into the wholesale murder of every Jewish man, woman, and child in occupied Europe, they did not in the end succeed. Between 1945 and 1948 tens of thousands of Jews emerged from the concentration and labour camps, and from hiding. Whilst many were desperate to go home, a large number were forced to gather in the DP camps of Austria, Germany, and Italy, waiting for life to begin. Stranded in the primitive and often punitive half-world of the DP camps—somewhere between the lives they had left behind and the uncertainties of the future—many survivors were desperate to start families. For women, in particular, this meant a whole series of challenges.Less
The final chapter explores Jewish life in the Displaced Persons (DP) camps. Whilst the Nazis had plunged everything into the wholesale murder of every Jewish man, woman, and child in occupied Europe, they did not in the end succeed. Between 1945 and 1948 tens of thousands of Jews emerged from the concentration and labour camps, and from hiding. Whilst many were desperate to go home, a large number were forced to gather in the DP camps of Austria, Germany, and Italy, waiting for life to begin. Stranded in the primitive and often punitive half-world of the DP camps—somewhere between the lives they had left behind and the uncertainties of the future—many survivors were desperate to start families. For women, in particular, this meant a whole series of challenges.
Beverly Bell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452123
- eISBN:
- 9780801468322
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452123.003.0017
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the initiatives launched by social movements in Haiti to address ordinary people's housing problems in the post-earthquake era. More than a thousand displaced persons camps have ...
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This chapter examines the initiatives launched by social movements in Haiti to address ordinary people's housing problems in the post-earthquake era. More than a thousand displaced persons camps have cropped up in Port-au-Prince after the earthquake. These camps had become a stark reminder of social neglect. Hunger, illness, and sleep deprivation were the norm. Those living in the camps faced constant risks of violence and abuse, not to mention the health risks posed by rats, flies, and mosquitoes. This chapter looks at the Force for Reflection and Action on Housing, a coalition of camp committees, community groups, and nonprofits whose mission has been secure, quality homes for everyone. It also discusses the social movements' vision for a national housing policy that includes a law guaranteeing the right to housing, equal access to women in housing and land ownership, and public housing on state land.Less
This chapter examines the initiatives launched by social movements in Haiti to address ordinary people's housing problems in the post-earthquake era. More than a thousand displaced persons camps have cropped up in Port-au-Prince after the earthquake. These camps had become a stark reminder of social neglect. Hunger, illness, and sleep deprivation were the norm. Those living in the camps faced constant risks of violence and abuse, not to mention the health risks posed by rats, flies, and mosquitoes. This chapter looks at the Force for Reflection and Action on Housing, a coalition of camp committees, community groups, and nonprofits whose mission has been secure, quality homes for everyone. It also discusses the social movements' vision for a national housing policy that includes a law guaranteeing the right to housing, equal access to women in housing and land ownership, and public housing on state land.
Beverly Bell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452123
- eISBN:
- 9780801468322
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452123.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless. This book is a searing account of the first ...
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On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless. This book is a searing account of the first year after the earthquake. It explores how strong communities and an age-old gift culture have helped Haitians survive in the wake of an unimaginable disaster, one that only compounded the preexisting social and economic distress of their society. The book examines the history that caused such astronomical destruction, and draws in theories of resistance and social movements to scrutinize grassroots organizing for a more just and equitable country. The book offers rich perspectives rarely seen outside Haiti. It takes the reader through displaced persons camps, shantytowns, and rural villages, where they get a view that defies the stereotype of Haiti as a lost nation of victims. It also combines excerpts of more than one hundred interviews with Haitians, historical and political analysis, and investigative journalism. The book investigates and critiques U.S. foreign policy, emergency aid, standard development approaches, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and disaster capitalism. Woven through the text are comparisons to the crisis and cultural resistance in the city of New Orleans, when the levees broke in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately a tale of hope, the book will give readers a new understanding of daily life, structural challenges, and collective dreams in one of the world's most complex countries.Less
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless. This book is a searing account of the first year after the earthquake. It explores how strong communities and an age-old gift culture have helped Haitians survive in the wake of an unimaginable disaster, one that only compounded the preexisting social and economic distress of their society. The book examines the history that caused such astronomical destruction, and draws in theories of resistance and social movements to scrutinize grassroots organizing for a more just and equitable country. The book offers rich perspectives rarely seen outside Haiti. It takes the reader through displaced persons camps, shantytowns, and rural villages, where they get a view that defies the stereotype of Haiti as a lost nation of victims. It also combines excerpts of more than one hundred interviews with Haitians, historical and political analysis, and investigative journalism. The book investigates and critiques U.S. foreign policy, emergency aid, standard development approaches, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and disaster capitalism. Woven through the text are comparisons to the crisis and cultural resistance in the city of New Orleans, when the levees broke in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately a tale of hope, the book will give readers a new understanding of daily life, structural challenges, and collective dreams in one of the world's most complex countries.
Zoë Waxman
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199608683
- eISBN:
- 9780191829109
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199608683.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Cultural History
Despite some pioneering work by scholars, historians still find it hard to listen to the voices of women in the Holocaust. Learning more about both the women who survived and who did not survive the ...
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Despite some pioneering work by scholars, historians still find it hard to listen to the voices of women in the Holocaust. Learning more about both the women who survived and who did not survive the Nazi genocide—through the testimony of the women themselves—not only increases our understanding of this terrible period in history, but necessarily makes us rethink our relationship to the gendered nature of knowledge itself. This book is about the ways in which socially and culturally constructed gender roles were placed under extreme pressure; yet also about the fact that gender continued to operate as an important arbiter of experience. Indeed, paradoxically enough, the extreme conditions of the Holocaust—even of the death camps—may have reinforced the importance of gender. Whilst men and women for no greater reason than their being Jewish were sentenced to death, gender nevertheless operated as a crucial signifier for survival. Pregnant women as well as women accompanied by young children or those deemed incapable of hard labour were sent straight to the gas chambers. The very qualities which made them women were manipulated and exploited by the Nazis as a source of dehumanization. Moreover, women were less likely to survive the camps even if they were not selected for death. Gender therefore became a matter of life and death.Less
Despite some pioneering work by scholars, historians still find it hard to listen to the voices of women in the Holocaust. Learning more about both the women who survived and who did not survive the Nazi genocide—through the testimony of the women themselves—not only increases our understanding of this terrible period in history, but necessarily makes us rethink our relationship to the gendered nature of knowledge itself. This book is about the ways in which socially and culturally constructed gender roles were placed under extreme pressure; yet also about the fact that gender continued to operate as an important arbiter of experience. Indeed, paradoxically enough, the extreme conditions of the Holocaust—even of the death camps—may have reinforced the importance of gender. Whilst men and women for no greater reason than their being Jewish were sentenced to death, gender nevertheless operated as a crucial signifier for survival. Pregnant women as well as women accompanied by young children or those deemed incapable of hard labour were sent straight to the gas chambers. The very qualities which made them women were manipulated and exploited by the Nazis as a source of dehumanization. Moreover, women were less likely to survive the camps even if they were not selected for death. Gender therefore became a matter of life and death.
Beverly Bell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452123
- eISBN:
- 9780801468322
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452123.003.0025
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
This chapter focuses on Haiti's national elections held on November 28, 2010. Fraud was rampant during the elections. Local authorities intimidated, committed violence, stuffed voting urns, and faked ...
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This chapter focuses on Haiti's national elections held on November 28, 2010. Fraud was rampant during the elections. Local authorities intimidated, committed violence, stuffed voting urns, and faked ballots. Ballots wound up in toilets and canals, while gangs burned down stations entirely. The portion of the electorate who voted and had it counted was a mere 22.8 percent. People referred to the elections as “selections.” The campaign itself had been farcical. Among the presidential candidates were Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly. The electoral council barred Jean-Bertrand Aristide's political party, Lavalas Family (Fanmi Lavalas), and eliminated at least thirteen other candidates. This chapter discusses the rise in cholera incidence in displaced persons camps during the election period as well as the involvement of the international community in the elections, including the United States and the Organization of American States.Less
This chapter focuses on Haiti's national elections held on November 28, 2010. Fraud was rampant during the elections. Local authorities intimidated, committed violence, stuffed voting urns, and faked ballots. Ballots wound up in toilets and canals, while gangs burned down stations entirely. The portion of the electorate who voted and had it counted was a mere 22.8 percent. People referred to the elections as “selections.” The campaign itself had been farcical. Among the presidential candidates were Mirlande Manigat and Michel Martelly. The electoral council barred Jean-Bertrand Aristide's political party, Lavalas Family (Fanmi Lavalas), and eliminated at least thirteen other candidates. This chapter discusses the rise in cholera incidence in displaced persons camps during the election period as well as the involvement of the international community in the elections, including the United States and the Organization of American States.
