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.

Episodes

  1. Michael Halperin, *Out of the Storm: Holocaust to Hope*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.

    JAN 8

    Michael Halperin, *Out of the Storm: Holocaust to Hope*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.

    Send us a text This memoir recounts the story of Alex and Mela Roslan, a typical yet brave Polish family, who assist Jewish brothers in fleeing the Warsaw Ghetto. They develop a strong relationship and safeguard them throughout the Holocaust, persevering together through the difficult post-Holocaust years in Europe—a region plagued by increasing antisemitism.

    1h 11m
  2. Istvan Pal Adam, *Budapest Building Managers and the Holocaust in Hungary*. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

    JAN 6

    Istvan Pal Adam, *Budapest Building Managers and the Holocaust in Hungary*. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.

    Send us a text This is the first book, at least within the Hungarian context, that narrates the experiences of a larger group of ordinary individuals during the Holocaust. There were approximately 20,000 building managers, or as we might refer to them using the French term, concierges (in the current US context, the closest equivalent might be a superintendent). This book delves deeply into their wartime actions, placing them within the context of 1944, a year when Budapest faced tragedy following the Nazi German occupation in March, and subsequently the Arrow Cross takeover in October 1944. To achieve this, the author clarifies that all these individuals came from rural areas: they were relatively impoverished, first-generation residents in Hungary's only metropolis, the sole true modern city. Their establishment in the city was closely linked to the building owners who provided them with free accommodation—the concierge's lodge—but nothing beyond that, as they received no real salaries. Rather than regular wages, they relied on tips and payments from tenants, a tradition that gained particular significance when concierges had to make difficult choices about which tenants to assist in their survival—they simply could not help everyone. On the contrary, many tenants remembered them as complicit helpers of the Nazis, enforcing anti-Jewish regulations on the residents of the apartment buildings, especially those in the ghetto. Thus, in many respects, this is a distinctive narrative that readers would find valuable, as it sheds light on fundamental aspects of human nature.

    55 min
  3. Alexa Morris and Benjamin Parket, *The Courtyard: A Memoir.* Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam Publishers, 2025.

    JAN 6

    Alexa Morris and Benjamin Parket, *The Courtyard: A Memoir.* Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam Publishers, 2025.

    Send us a text This memoir about the Holocaust shows how people can be good even when faced with terrible evil. It's a powerful story of bravery and kindness. This book -- The Courtyard -- reminds us that even in the darkest times, a small group can really make a difference. In Nazi-occupied Paris, a Jewish family is kept safe by their working-class neighbors. It's 1937, just before World War II starts, and young Bernard lives with his Polish-immigrant family in a working-class courtyard in Paris. There aren't many other Jews around, but the Parkiets feel welcomed and at home in this lively place filled with interesting characters. For Bernard, the courtyard is both a home and a playground; a magical spot where he sees his dad varnish furniture, gets into trouble with grumpy neighbors, and shares pain au chocolat with his best friend Titi. When the Germans take over Paris, everything changes for Bernard. Just hours before the Nazis come to arrest the Parkiet family in July 1942, their neighbors come together to help them. The family hides in an empty warehouse, and the courtyard turns into a safe haven. With their lives turned upside down, it's up to nine-year-old Bernard to leave the courtyard every day to find food for his family. Even with the neighbors looking out for them, danger is everywhere – even in some parts of the courtyard itself.

    45 min
  4. Gabriel Laufer, ed. and trans., *A Voice from the Lost Town of Trochenbrod: A Translation of Yisrael Beider’s Poems, Essays and Letters*. Gabriel Laufer, Andrew Cassel and Ellen Cassedy, trans. Newton, MA: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.

    JAN 1

    Gabriel Laufer, ed. and trans., *A Voice from the Lost Town of Trochenbrod: A Translation of Yisrael Beider’s Poems, Essays and Letters*. Gabriel Laufer, Andrew Cassel and Ellen Cassedy, trans. Newton, MA: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.

    Send us a text The obliteration of Trochenbrod, the sole Jewish town outside of Israel, stands as a largely neglected tragedy of the Holocaust. This book gathers a remarkable array of poems, essays, and letters penned by Yisrael Beider, a native of Trochenbrod and a descendant of a long line of rabbis that can be traced back to the "Maharal of Prague." Beider lost his life during the Holocaust, yet these writings endured, becoming rare artifacts that emerged from Trochenbrod. While Beider did publish some of his works in notable Hebrew and Yiddish publications, the majority of his writings remain largely unrecognized. This translation compiles the complete surviving collection to illuminate Beider's literary and historical contributions, as well as to offer a firsthand account of life in Trochenbrod and western Ukraine during the interwar period.

    1h 5m
  5. Laszlo Borhi, *Survival Under Dictatorships: Life and Death in Nazi and Communist Regimes*. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press, 2024.

    12/23/2025

    Laszlo Borhi, *Survival Under Dictatorships: Life and Death in Nazi and Communist Regimes*. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press, 2024.

    Send us a text This book--*Survival Under Dictatorships: Life and Death in Nazi and Communist Regimes*--presents a complex view of how people responded to government abuse of power during three horrific events in East-Central Europe's past.  These events unfolded over roughly a decade: first, the deportation and murder of Hungarian Jews in Nazi concentration camps; next, the brutal rule of the Arrow Cross in Budapest; and finally, the Stalinist terror that affected Hungary and its neighboring regions.  László Borhi examines survival to grasp how individuals interact with authority, aiming to understand how ordinary people dealt with the oppression and fear brought on by unchecked power.  Although the specific time and place were distinct, the Hungarian narratives offer us universal insights into the Holocaust, Nazism, and Stalinism. The author argues that the experiences of National Socialism and Stalinism are intertwined in many respects.  Both regimes sought to defend their visions of the future against social groups they considered threats, which they believed had to be eradicated for a flawless society. Moreover, the methods of National Socialism were carried over.  Even with Stalinism being imposed on them by an external force, some of the skills necessary for survival were learned from their previous horrific experiences.

    1h 42m
  6. Susanne Paola Antonetta, *The Devil’s Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry’s Troubled History Reverberates Today*. Los Angeles and San Francisco, California: Counterpoint Press, 2025.

    12/17/2025

    Susanne Paola Antonetta, *The Devil’s Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry’s Troubled History Reverberates Today*. Los Angeles and San Francisco, California: Counterpoint Press, 2025.

    Send us a text In this work, Susanne Paola Antonetta explores the overlooked history of eugenics and its ties to contemporary mental health practices and politics in the United States, illustrating how we can leverage our past to inspire change. In 1939, the eugenics movement, which was gaining momentum across the West, reached its most horrific peak in Nazi Germany. The Aktion T4 euthanasia program turned five asylums and an abandoned prison into gas chambers. Tens of thousands of lives—mainly adults with neuropsychiatric disorders—were lost in these facilities, ultimately setting the stage for the atrocities of the Holocaust. Antonetta points out that psychiatry’s “Bible,” the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, was developed by a group of psychiatrists who referred to themselves as “neo-Kraepelinians,” in tribute to Emil Kraepelin—the German psychiatrist who advocated for eugenic theories and trained some of the most notorious Nazi doctors. She also highlights that the current discourse surrounding immigration serves as a painful reminder of a time in our nation when immigrants were deemed mentally “impaired,” with their alleged genetic “inferiority” used as justification for barring their entry. Yet, while Antonetta addresses the bleakest aspects of psychiatric history, she presents a courageous vision for the future of mental health care, intertwining her personal experiences with psychosis and illuminating the narratives of Paul Schreber and Dorothea Buck, two historical figures who exemplify models for mental care and acceptance. This compelling investigation navigates the range of neurodiversity, from the tragic effects of dehumanization to the life-changing possibilities of understanding and acceptance. In this book, Antonetta not only reveals the shortcomings of our history but also imagines a more compassionate and enlightened approach to mental health care. This narrative embodies tragedy, resilience, and hope—a call to action for change that boldly challenges the boundaries of how we define, characterize, care for, nurture, and support those affected.

    59 min
  7. Robert Sommer, *The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor Under Nazi Rule.* Dominic Bonfiglio, trans. New York: Fordham University Press, 2025

    12/11/2025

    Robert Sommer, *The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor Under Nazi Rule.* Dominic Bonfiglio, trans. New York: Fordham University Press, 2025

    Send us a text In his seminal work, The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor Under Nazi Rule, Robert Sommer reveals the hidden atrocities of sexual forced labor within the SS camp system, a subject that has been largely neglected and seldom addressed in Holocaust discussions. Through his comprehensive research involving over seventy archives and poignant interviews with more than thirty survivors, including former clients of camp brothels, Sommer crafts a powerful and harrowing depiction of the horrors that occurred. This publication is the first to offer a detailed analysis of the establishment, operation, and significant impact of brothels in Nazi concentration camps. Sommer’s investigation meticulously details how these brothels were incorporated into the concentration camp system, their role in the Nazi regime's exploitation of individuals for control and profit, and the complex reactions of the prisoner community to these establishments. He explores the desperate survival strategies employed by women forced into sexual labor and the chilling motives of their oppressors. The book also contextualizes the tragedy of camp brothels within the broader narrative of sexual violence during the Nazi period, establishing an essential connection between these acts of exploitation and the wider history of the Holocaust. This updated English edition presents new insights and perspectives since the original German publication in 2009, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. The foreword by Annette F. Timm adds further context and contemporary analysis, enhancing the book’s importance and depth. This interview introduces listeners to the findings Sommer presents in his research.

    1h 29m
  • 7 Episodes

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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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