East of the Storm: Outrunning the Holocaust in RussiaTexas Tech University Press, 1999 - 218 Seiten On September 27, 1939, less than four weeks after the Nazi invasion, Poland ceased to exist as a nation. Only three weeks had passed since ten-year-old Hanna Davidson had said goodbye to her father, Simon, and older brother, Kazik, who had been drafted and sent to defend Warsaw. Now she believed she would never see them again. Hanna and her mother, Sophia, an artist and intellectual, found themselves subjected to Hitler’s efforts to dehumanize Poland’s Jewish population. There seemed no choice but to cling to what shreds of stability they could by submitting to a ruthless tyranny.But when they got word that Simon and Kazik were alive in Bialystok in the Soviet-occupied zone of Poland, Hanna and her mother made a fearful decision—they would risk a harrowing escape from Nazi Poland into relatively safer Soviet territory. After a few hasty good-byes to family and with only the clothes on their backs, they left their apartment—just one hour before soldiers would come for Sophia.If the two-percent chance of surviving the crossing were not daunting enough, then the Davidsons’ prospects in the Soviet Union should have been. For Simon Davidson’s past as a prominent businessman (and capitalist) and political activism in the socialist Bund (an organization banned by the communists) branded him as undesirable. Moreover, he had been born in Russia—escaping years before by fooling Soviet authorities into presuming him dead—and his presence could place those members of his family who remained behind in danger. So for the sake of their very lives—and those of relatives they could never publicly acknowledge—the Davidsons would be compelled to invent and memorize not only their own new identities but also an extended family history. Moreover, avoiding persecution by the Soviet regime would entail struggling virtually every day to maintain a pretense of allegiance to Stalin. As recounted by Hanna, the Davidsons’ journey into the Soviet interior makes for an extraordinary story. More than a memoir of survival, the Davidsons’ story is clearly one of a family whose spirit could not be destroyed by persecution, war, famine, or political oppression.“A singular and engaging story . . . . More than just another memoir of survival” —Bookwatch |
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Seite xi
... Jews the Davidsons probably fared better than they would have in most of Europe . Out of a pre - war Jewish population in Poland of about 3,100,000 , only about 380,000 Jews , or 11.5 percent sur- vived ; of those who survived , 7 ...
... Jews the Davidsons probably fared better than they would have in most of Europe . Out of a pre - war Jewish population in Poland of about 3,100,000 , only about 380,000 Jews , or 11.5 percent sur- vived ; of those who survived , 7 ...
Seite xii
... Jews like Hanna's family who had lived out the war in the Soviet Union started returning to Poland . Under the terms of the 1945 Polish - Soviet Repatriation Agreement and others that followed , approximately 185,000 Jews were repatri ...
... Jews like Hanna's family who had lived out the war in the Soviet Union started returning to Poland . Under the terms of the 1945 Polish - Soviet Repatriation Agreement and others that followed , approximately 185,000 Jews were repatri ...
Seite 24
... Jews could not destroy Judaism . Newspapers printed pictures accusing Jews of destroying their own synagogue . The Jewish community was billed for the gasoline used for the fire . Our education continued , as the school was still open ...
... Jews could not destroy Judaism . Newspapers printed pictures accusing Jews of destroying their own synagogue . The Jewish community was billed for the gasoline used for the fire . Our education continued , as the school was still open ...
Inhalt
Authors Introduction | 1 |
Home in Poland | 3 |
The German Invasion | 19 |
Urheberrecht | |
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East of the Storm: Outrunning the Holocaust in Russia Hanna Davidson Pankowsky Eingeschränkte Leseprobe - 1999 |
East of the Storm: Outrunning the Holocaust in Russia Hanna Davidson Pankowsky Keine Leseprobe verfügbar - 2008 |
Häufige Begriffe und Wortgruppen
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