Register below! Virtual Programs
Nowhere To Go: Holocaust Survivors in Post-War Europe
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19
4:00 PM (Eastern Time)
With Professor David Nasaw, author of “The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War.”
Following World War II, over 200,000 Jews in Europe were refugees, scarred and traumatized from the ordeal of the Holocaust. Many were stranded in Displaced Persons camps for years, longing to rebuild their lives but barred from emigrating to the United States and other countries.
In his widely acclaimed book, “The Last Million: Europe’s Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War,” historian David Nasaw tells the largely overlooked story of Jewish and other refugees, abandoned and pawns in postwar politics. Thanks to the efforts of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and other humanitarian organizations, Jews were able to receive vital support, build communities in DP camps, and restore their lives. They were liberated but not free in a world that turned its back to them.
This program will focus on the plight of the displaced, those who had survived the Holocaust to once again become victims of antisemitic policy in Europe, British-occupied Palestine, and the United States.
David Nasaw, a historian and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, is the bestselling author of The Last Million, The Patriarch, Andrew Carnegie, and The Chief, all widely acclaimed works of American and world history. He is The Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Professor of History Emeritus at the CUNY Graduate Center and a former president of the Society of American Historians. The Last Million was named by the Economist as one of the “six must-read books on World War II”. Professor Nasaw’s latest book, “The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II,” was published last week and has already received outstanding reviews from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Joseph Berger (interviewer), a longtime reporter, editor, and columnist for The New York Times, built a distinguished career covering religion, education, and New York City life. His memoir, Displaced Persons: Growing Up American After the Holocaust (Scribner, 2001), recounts his family’s experience as Jewish refugees adapting to life in postwar New York. His most recent book is the biography, Elie Wiesel: Confronting the Silence.
Abby Lester is the Director of the Global Archives at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Appointed in 2023, she oversees the preservation and accessibility of JDC’s vast historical collection, documenting more than a century of global Jewish relief work.
Introduction by Arthur Berger, TOLI board of directors. A retired US foreign service officer, he is the former director of External Affairs and Communications at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
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