Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
'Biography and Memory' discusses the return of Jews to their places of birth in Poland. A biographical urge to come full circle often leads to symbolic journeys to one's roots, but in the case of Shoah survivors, such journeys are unexpected. They defy the generational definition of their biography, which mostly draws a line of demarcation between wartime trauma and post-Holocaust life. Analyzed biographical stories collected from Israeli survivors indicate that such returns may be considered the last chapters of the survivors' wartime experiences. Survivors' biographies are examined in the context of both Jewish and Polish memory. This book will be of interest to sociologists, historians, and general readers.