Generation Exodus : The Fate of Young Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany

367 Pages·2001·0.907 MB·English

by  Walter Laqueur

Walter Laqueur: Generation Exodus page A
“This latest valuable addition to Walter Laqueur’s insightful and extensive chron-
icle of European Jewry’s fate in the twentieth century is an exceedingly well-
crafted and fascinating collective biography of the younger generation of Jews:
how they lived under the heels of the Nazis, the various routes of escape they
found, and how they were received and ultimately made their mark in the lands of
their refuge. It is a remarkable story, lucidly told, refusing to relinquish its hold on
the reader.” —Rabbi Alexander M.Schindler,
President emeritus,Union of American Hebrew Congregations
“Picture that generation, barely old enough to flee for their lives, and too young to
offer any evident value to a world loath to give them shelter. Yet their achieve-
ments in country after country far surpassed the rational expectations of conven-
tional wisdom. What lessons does this story hold for future generations? Thanks to
Walter Laqueur’s thought-provoking biography, we have a chance to find out.”
—Arno Penzias,Nobel Laureate
“Generation Exodus documents the extraordinary experiences and attitudes of
those young Austrian and German Jews who were forced by the Nazis to emigrate
or to flee for their lives into a largely unknown outside world. In most cases they
left behind family members who would be devoured by the infernal machines of
the Holocaust. Yet by and large, some overcoming great obstacles, some with the
help of caring relatives or friends, or of strangers, they became valuable members
of their adopted homelands. Their contributions belie their small numbers. I my-
self described my sense of identity as ‘an American, a citizen of the world, a Jew,
and a former Austrian.’ Others see themselves differently. This is a book which
brings joy and pain: joy for the rescue of these valuable lives; infinite sorrow for
those that were extinguished. The book’s significance for our harsh times far ex-
ceeds its specific subject.” —Walter Kohn,Nobel Laureate
“Walter Laqueur has always been an historian with an eye to significant, and
sometimes neglected, historical episodes. Generation Exodusis a prime example of
that talent. It is an absorbing story of the ‘saving remnant’ of the German Jewish
generation that survived and so often became famous—with surprises such as the
Nobel Laureates Arno Penzias and Konraad Bloch, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer. It is
not an ‘exotic’ story, but a sober one, reminding us of the shame of the United
States which limited the entry of Jewish refugees before the war and doomed many
of them to their death.” —Daniel Bell,
Henry Ford II Professor of Social Sciences Emeritus,
Harvard University
Walter Laqueur: Generation Exodus page B
“I am deeply impressed by Walter Laqueur’s new book. He provides us with mov-
ing portraits of human fates in the last century. What he describes is my genera-
tion. Both of us went to school in Berlin at the same time. The sufferings of those
who had to emigrate, their incredible challenges to find new roots, their astound-
ing success in many cases, and, last but not at all least, the never-healing losses to
their former homes tell the story to the young generation in our part of the world
that it should never forget.” —Richard v.Weizsäcker,
former president of the German Federal Republic
“Walter Laqueur’s fascinating account of the fate of teenage nobodies who became
superstars after they had been driven from their homelands by the Nazis is an in-
spirational counterpoint to the well-known post-emigration stories of the mem-
bers of the elder generation (the Bertolt Brechts, Albert Einsteins, Thomas
Manns), who were already famous when they turned into refugees.”
—Gunther S.Stent,University of California at Berkeley
“Although I am a member and a friend of many members of Generation Exodus, I
was totally unprepared for the multitude of different fates and adventures with
which members of my generation of Jews from Germany survived the Second
World War and which are described in this fascinating book. Laqueur shows that
these people did not merely survive; they mastered their lives creatively and ag-
gressively under the most adverse circumstances. This book is based on thousands
of published and unpublished interviews, memoirs, diaries, and letters which
Laqueur pulled together from individuals and archives in literally all corners of
the world. It is a fascinating and gripping story which has not been told so far and
needed to be told.” —Ernest Fontheim, University of Michigan
“Walter Laqueur’s skillfully woven tapestry vividly portrays the achievements of
the widely dispersed members of this group who have been a blessing to the coun-
tries where they found refuge. Looking back over the past fifty years one might
conclude that no other wave of refugees left their imprint in so many diverse fields
and in so many countries than did those who were given the opportunity to leave
Germany while there was still time. With his skillful style, Laqueur has collected
their story.” —Stanley Rabinowitz,Rabbi Emeritus,
Adas Israel Congregation,Washington D.C.
Walter Laqueur: Generation Exodus page i
GENERATION EXODUS
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Walter Laqueur: Generation Exodus page iii
Walter Laqueur
G E N E R AT I O N
E X O D U S
The Fate of Young Jewish Refugees
from Nazi Germany
Q
Brandeis University Press
Published by University Press of New England
Hanover and London
Walter Laqueur: Generation Exodus page iv
Brandeis University Press
Published by University Press of New England, Hanover, NH 03755
© 2001 by Brandeis University Press
Originally published in German as Geboren in Deutschland:
Der Exodus der jüdischen Jugend nach 1933
by Propyläen
in 2000.
All rights reserved
Printed in United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge
ownership of copyright for the photographs.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Laqueur, Walter, 1921–
Generation exodus: the fate of young Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany /
Walter Laqueur.
p. cm. — (The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry series)
Includes bibliographical references (p. )
isbn1–58465–106–7 (cloth)
1. Jews—Germany—History—1933–1945. 2. Refugees, Jews—Biography.
3.Jewish youth—Germany—Biography. 4. Jews—Germany—Migrations.
5.Germany—Ethnic relations. I . Title. II. Series.
ds135.g3315 l37 2001
943'.004924—dc21 00-010538
Walter Laqueur: Generation Exodus page v
the tauber institute for the
study of european jewry series
Jehuda Reinharz,General Editor
Michael Brenner,Associate Editor
The Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry, established by a gift to
Brandeis University from Dr. Laszlo N. Tauber, is dedicated to the memory of the
victims of Nazi persecutions between 1933 and 1945. The Institute seeks to study
the history and culture of European Jewry in the modern period. The Institute has
a special interest in studying the causes, nature, and consequences of the Euro-
pean Jewish catastrophe within the contexts of modern European diplomatic, in-
tellectual, political, and social history.
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For Susi
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