Survivors of the Holocaust: Israel after the War

by Hanna Yablonka

Overview

Survivors of the Holocaustaccounted for fully one-half of the wave of immigration into Israel in the aftermath of World War II. These survivors were among the first to enter the gates of the new state following its founding in 1948.

In this important addition to our understanding of the social integration of Holocaust survivors into postwar society, Hanna Yablonka draws on a wealth of primary materials such as recently released archival material, letters, newspapers, internal army magazines, and personal interviews, to examine, from all sides, the charged encounters between survivors of the Holocaust and the veteran Jewish population in Israel.

Yablonka details the role the new immigrants played in the War of Independence, their settlement of towns and villages abandoned by Arabs during the war, and the ways in which Israeli society accepted-and often did not accept-them into the armed forces, the kibbutz movements, and the trade unions.

Survivors of the Holocaust illuminates the ways in which Israeli society grew and developed through its emotional and sometimes contentious relations with the arriving survivors and how, against all odds, the survivors of the Holocaust and their offspring became pillars of modern Israeli society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814796924
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	03/01/1999
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

HANNA YABLONKA is Lecturer in History at Ben-Gurion University, Israel.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Prologue Introduction Indeed 'Human Dust' Old Refugees and New Refugees Partisans, Fighters and Katztaniks (Concentration Camp Inmates) 'This Human Substance': the Survivors According to the Emissaries and the Survivors According to Themselves 'Blend in at a Low Temperature' Out of the Holocaust and into the War of Independence The Motherland - an Army and a Military Front Sabras and Gahalniks I the IDF IDF and the Holocaust These Valuable Reserves Straight Home 'There was a Heavy Fall That Year': on the Question of Kibbutz Drop-Outs The Kibbutz and Youth Aliyah Education, Occupation, Socialization 'These Young People - Their Souls are Sealed to Us' Home and Parents on the Kibbutz The Histadrut in the Shadow of the State Local Treatment of Issues Ad-hoc Mobilizing in Defence of the Spirit Summing-up - Minor Public Impact Index

Editorial Reviews

Drawing on archival materials, verbal testimonies, and other sources, Yablonka (history, Ben-Gurion U. of the Negev) tells the neglected story of the integration of Holocaust survivors into the postwar State of Israel. In the context of the surprising fact that they did not evoke much sympathy from the indigenous population at the time, the author examines their demographics, and roles on the front lines, the kibbutz, and in the General Labor Federation. Includes a few photos. First published in Hebrew in 1994. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Yablonka's important book details the reception of Holocaust survivors in Israel during the War for Independence in 1948.

Choice

'This book deals with the integration of thousands of survivors of the Holocaust into Israeli society in the early years of the State's existence and sums up the first ever socio-historical research done into this emotionally charged subject.' - Diora Literary Agency

From the Publisher