Inside the Vault: Jewish American Soldiers & Jewish Refugees after World War II
by Gilder Lehrman Institute Staff
In the wake of World War II, American servicemen helped Jewish refugees come to the United States. Join us as we learn more about the servicemen’s work through primary sources. Who were these people? What are their stories?
On Thursday, May 2, 2024, our curators discussed how servicemen and women helped Holocaust survivors. Our team were joined by Melanie Meyers from the American Jewish Historical Society and Dr. Deborah Dash Moore, the Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of History and professor of Judaic studies at the University of Michigan.
View slides from the presentation here.
FEATURED DOCUMENTS
USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW
8:50–9:11: Today’s documents
9:12–11:24: Eduardo Propper de Callejón and the beginning of World War II
11:25–19:01: Dachau Service and the end of WWII
19:02–22:06: Displaced people after the war
22:07–30:06: The Harrison Report
30:07–33:11: Liberation in Europe
33:12–36:16: Displaced Persons Camps
36:17–40:38: A Monthly Summary of Events and Trends in Race Relations, 1945
40:39–46:02: Cecilia Razovsky Collection
46:03–49:35: Abraham Klausner Collection
49:36–51:40: Morris Sandhaus to Miss Lever, April 27, 1945
51:41–56:35: Leo Srole to Folks, December 7, 1945
56:36–1:08:00: Q&A
RELATED RESOURCES
- Essay: “Immigrant Fiction: Exploring an American Identity” by Phillip Lopate (Columbia University), History Now 3 (Spring 2005)
- Essay: “‘In the Name of America’s Future’: The Fraught Passage of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act” by Maddalena Marinari (Gustavus Adolphus College), History Now 52 (Fall 2018)
- Book Breaks: “Americans and the Holocaust: A Reader” with Daniel Greene and Edward Phillips (Northwestern University)
- Classroom Resources: “Historical Context: Immigration Policy in World War II” by Steven Mintz (University of Texas at Austin)