Dialogues in Holocaust Studies and the Second World War

Ari Barbalat
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This podcast features interviews with authors of new research, fresh monographs and recent books about the Holocaust and World War II.

  1. 4d ago

    Sharon Ring, *The Innocents: The Untold True Story of My Family in the Holocaust*. New York: HarperCollins, 2026.

    Send us Fan Mail This represents a crucial new addition to Holocaust history, illuminating the lesser-known story of Mischlinge—an offensive term utilized by the Nazis to designate individuals of mixed Jewish and Christian descent, who were subsequently condemned and persecuted as Jews. This moving and dramatic true narrative is conveyed through the viewpoints of two children, the author’s uncle Heinz and her mother Edie. Heinz (Heini) and Edie Bernstein, a brother and sister, were only nine and five years old when Hitler rose to power. Although they were brought up as Christians in Berlin, they were soon classified as Mischlinge, a German term meaning mongrel—an epithet the Nazis used to legally categorize and belittle individuals. This label instilled terror in these innocent children, with the threat of death looming as they struggled for survival in Berlin. They experienced gradual exclusion from educational and employment opportunities, were interrogated at Gestapo headquarters, imprisoned, tortured, and forced into slave labor. Sharon was unaware of their remarkable story until she discovered a memoir hidden in a box in her mother’s Norfolk home, untouched for three decades. It contained her uncle Heinz’s firsthand account of events during the Holocaust and World War II, a narrative her mother had never revealed. Edie explained that she had built her joyful life by concentrating on the future rather than the past, but the discovery prompted her to finally share with her daughter. Sharon then embarked on extensive archival research, uncovering that some family members were not as fortunate. This narrative is both grand and deeply personal, detailing the experiences of an ordinary Berlin family as they navigate significant events of the twentieth century, reminiscent of a more tragic rendition of Forest Gump. It includes moments from performing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics to the atrocities of Buchenwald and Auschwitz, escape attempts, the death marches, romance in post-war London, the establishment of Israel, and crossing Checkpoint Charlie to experience both sides of the Berlin Wall. From demonstrating talent at the 1936 Berlin Olympics to facing the horrors of Buchenwald and Auschwitz, through attempts to escape, the death marches, and love in post-war London, the creation of Israel, and moving through Checkpoint Charlie to both sides of the Berlin Wall. This story is both engaging and surprisingly uplifting, filled with themes of resilience and hope, the bond between siblings, the everyday bravery of local individuals and families, as well as the unexpected kindness of strangers.

    Sharon Ring, *The Innocents: The Untold True Story of My Family in the Holocaust*. New York: HarperCollins, 2026.

  2. 6d ago

    Dan Ben-Canaan, *Echoes of Harbin: Reflections on Space and Time of a Vanished Community in Manchuria*. London: Bloomsbury, 2024.

    Send us Fan Mail This monograph examines Harbin, a Chinese city established by Russians in 1898, which became a melting pot for 38 different ethnic communities for more than 60 years. Notably, the Jewish community stood as the second largest among them. This book sheds light on various elements that shaped the Jewish experience in China, particularly in Harbin, providing a profound perspective on how a Jewish community flourished in a foreign environment while coexisting with other groups. Starting with the unique region of Manchuria that influenced Harbin, it unveils the lively and dynamic existence of a community in search of refuge, yet grappling with unrest and hostility, ultimately prompting them to seek safety elsewhere.

    Dan Ben-Canaan, *Echoes of Harbin: Reflections on Space and Time of a Vanished Community in Manchuria*. London: Bloomsbury, 2024.

  3. Aug 27

    Havi Ben-Sasson Dreifuss, *The People’s Uprising and the Fall of the Warsaw Ghetto, April 1942-June 1943*. Mark Elliott Shapiro, trans. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2026.

    Send us Fan Mail This book sheds light on the lives, decisions, and experiences of countless Jews who, although not involved in the underground armed resistance, still made significant contributions to the renowned Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This gripping and dramatic account focuses on the final year of the Warsaw ghetto, from the Great Deportation in the summer of 1942 until the uprising's suppression in mid-1943. Drawing from powerful contemporary testimonies, diaries, and documents—many of which have been previously overlooked—Havi Ben-Sasson Dreifuss illustrates how members of the broader Jewish community struggled to survive, uphold family and community life, and confront impossible moral choices in the face of fear, hunger, and daily violence. The book transcends the narratives of the fighters, presenting a story of devastation, yet also one of resilience and human dignity.

    Havi Ben-Sasson Dreifuss, *The People’s Uprising and the Fall of the Warsaw Ghetto, April 1942-June 1943*. Mark Elliott Shapiro, trans. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University Press, 2026.

  4. Aug 21

    Robert S.C. Gordon, *Modern Luck: Narratives of Fortune in the Long Twentieth Century*. London: University College London Press, 2023.

    Send us Fan Mail Across all human cultures, beliefs, superstitions, and stories about luck are prevalent. Our fascination with luck, intertwined with happiness, danger, uncertainty, and aspiration, makes it a captivating yet elusive concept. Different cultures reinterpret luck and seek to control it throughout their histories, and the modern era of the 'long twentieth century' is no different. Although overshadowed by more precise scientific concepts like chance, contingency, probability, or randomness, luck continues to thrive in its chaotic and vibrant form, appearing in our daily conversations and being studied by a diverse range of experts, from philosophers and psychologists to economists and self-help authors. This study aims to delve into the mystery of luck's role in modernity, investigating the various hybrid forms it has adopted in contemporary thought, particularly within modern narratives. By analyzing a diverse and rich array of narratives from literature, film, music, television, and theater – spanning from Dostoevsky to Philip K. Dick, from Pinocchio to Cimino, and from Curtiz to Kieślowski – it outlines the uses and meanings of luck-related language, while also mapping the significant figures, patterns, and motifs that shape the stories told about luck from the late nineteenth century to today. The final part of this interview is dedicated to Robert Gordon’s earlier work, *Outrageous Fortune: Luck and the Holocaust* (New York: Centro Primo Levi, 2017). In this book, Gordon delves into the literary and philosophical themes surrounding luck, chance, and fortune, tracing their evolution from ancient myths to the writings of Dante, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, and Shakespeare. He investigates how Christian and Renaissance humanist authors redefined Fortuna, which influenced their thought processes and narrative techniques. In the latter sections of the book, Gordon transitions to the 20th century, uncovering fascinating and surprising connections between this literary tradition and the Shoah. He addresses the troubling issue of survival in concentration camps—who lived, why they survived, and what it signifies when Primo Levi often remarked that survival was ultimately a matter of sheer chance.

    Robert S.C. Gordon, *Modern Luck: Narratives of Fortune in the Long Twentieth Century*. London: University College London Press, 2023.

  5. Aug 19

    Jacob Flaws, *Spaces of Treblinka: Retracing a Death Camp*. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2024.

    Send us Fan Mail This study leverages testimonies, oral histories, and recollections from Jewish, German, and Polish witnesses to construct a comprehensive representation of the Treblinka death camp during its operational years. This narrative disputes the historical belief that Treblinka was a solitary Nazi extermination camp with few witnesses and even fewer survivors. Instead of being the concealed, sanitized site of industrialized murder that Treblinka was designed to be, Jacob Flaws argues that the mass killings were widely recognized by the local townspeople, who were exposed to the sights, sounds, smells, individuals, corpses, and train cars that the camp released into the surrounding area. Through the concept of spatial reality, Flaws depicts the perceptions, fantasies, ideological assumptions, and memories of Treblinka from witnesses both within the camp and from the surrounding towns. To do this, he identifies six key spaces that historically made up Treblinka: the ideological space, the behavioral space, the space of life and death, the interactional space, the sensory space, and the extended space. By examining these spaces, Flaws reveals that there were more witnesses to Treblinka than previously acknowledged, as the transnational groups near and within the camp overlapped and interacted. This work offers a staggering and profound reassessment of the relationship between knowledge and ignorance, prompting us to confront the timely warning that we, in our modern, interconnected world, can all become witnesses.

    Jacob Flaws, *Spaces of Treblinka: Retracing a Death Camp*. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2024.

  6. Aug 14

    Shimon Redlich, *Bridge Builder: My Life Since the Holocaust*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2026.

    Send us Fan Mail *Bridge Builder: My Life Since the Holocaust* serves as the fourth and final installment in Shimon Redlich’s autobiographical series, which began with *Together and Apart in Brezany* (2002). This first volume explores the relationships among Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews in his native town, as well as his experiences of survival during the Holocaust. The series continued with *Life in Transit* (2010), which recounts his family's move in postwar Lodz and their fresh starts in Israel. *A New Life in Israel* (2018) depicted his adjustment to life on a kibbutz and his service in the Israel Defense Forces. In *Bridge Builder*, Redlich contemplates his life from the late 1950s onward. This volume covers his academic journey from a student in Jerusalem and the United States to a professorship at Ben-Gurion University, his friendships, and his interactions with both Jewish and non-Jewish individuals in Eastern Europe, along with his distinctive viewpoint on controversial matters. In keeping with the previous volumes, *Bridge Builder* enriches Redlich’s personal narratives with comprehensive historical research.

    Shimon Redlich, *Bridge Builder: My Life Since the Holocaust*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2026.

  7. Jul 15

    Julie Brill, *Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia*. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Publishers, 2025

    Send us Fan Mail This family's account of the Holocaust in Serbia unveils a significant, previously unrecognized aspect of Holocaust history, alongside a daughter's unwavering quest to reveal the story that began a generation before her birth. From a young age, Julie Brill struggled to understand how her father survived as a young Jewish boy in Belgrade, where the Nazis annihilated 90 percent of the Jewish population without resorting to gas chambers or cattle cars. Through diligent research, a stroke of luck, and three meaningful trips to Serbia, she reconstructs her family's hidden history, uncovers concealed truths, and restores to her father a piece of what the Nazis took from him: his own family legacy.

    Julie Brill, *Hidden in Plain Sight: A Family Memoir and the Untold Story of the Holocaust in Serbia*. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Publishers, 2025

  8. Jul 10

    Kate Garrett, Andrew McNamara and Seumas Spark, eds., *Voices of the Dumera: Ernst Kitzinger, Exile and Essays on Internment*. London: Berghahn Books, 2026.

    Send us Fan Mail Ernst Kitzinger, a notable art historian of the twentieth century, was also a refugee who found himself detained in Hay, New South Wales during World War II. He sought asylum in Britain in 1935 as a German Jew, but in 1940, he became one of 2,500 men classified as 'enemy aliens' and was deported to Australia on the HMT Dunera. Kitzinger inspired his fellow internees to articulate their distinct experiences. Through impactful and often profoundly emotional prose and poetry, they reflected on their journeys and the difficulties faced by refugees. Their previously unpublished works continue to resonate strongly in contemporary times.

    Kate Garrett, Andrew McNamara and Seumas Spark, eds., *Voices of the Dumera: Ernst Kitzinger, Exile and Essays on Internment*. London: Berghahn Books, 2026.
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This podcast features interviews with authors of new research, fresh monographs and recent books about the Holocaust and World War II.

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