Tragedy and Triumph

After the liberation of German-occupied Europe by the Allies, Displaced Persons camps were established to house the vast numbers of displaced people of all nationalities.  The Jewish survivors, who called themselves She'erit Hapletah, the 'Surviving Remnant', could not be repatriated to their countries of origin because anti-Semitism amongst the local populations was still rampant.  Because of the Cold War, the Allies were not concerned with the Jewish experiences during the Holocaust.

The leaders of the Jewish communities realised they had to record the history of the Holocaust to prevent a distortion of the facts. They created Historical Commissions in Germany and elsewhere to collect Jewish survivors' testimonies, photographs, documents and artefacts as a record of Jewish life prior to and during the War. The testimonies were given in Yiddish. 

Until now these testimonies remained untranslated and therefore inaccessible to most historians. The Munich Historical Commission published a journal series called Fun Letzten Khurben, 'From the Last Catastrophe', in which 100 Yiddish testimonies appeared.

The thirty translated testimonies in Tragedy and Triumph provide significant historical information, such as the names of Nazi perpetrators, descriptions of the atrocities in the camps and ghettos as well as details about the struggle to survive.

About the Author

Freda Hodge holds degrees in English, Linguistics and Jewish Studies, and has taught at universities and colleges in South Africa and Australia. Fluent in Yiddish and Hebrew, she works at the Holocaust Centre in Melbourne conducting interviews with survivors and families.