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Rekindling
the Flame
American Jewish Chaplains and the Survivors of European
Jewry, 1944-1948
Alex Grobman |
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A study of American Jewish chaplains in displaced
persons' camps after World War II, Rekindling
the Flame provides a historical analysis
of the survivors' impact on American Jewish chaplains and indirectly on
American Jewry.
This critical and controversial study examines not
only the adequacy of the response by the U.S. government and military
to the survivors, but also the American Jewish response. Grobman concludes
that the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee the Jewish organization
most responsible for providing aid to the survivors, did not adequately
respond.
Rekindling the Flame
is based on several sources including chaplains' reports and other records;
oral interviews with chaplains, their assistants, American soldiers, and
Holocaust survivors; diaries and personal correspondence of chaplains;
and archives in the United States, Israel, and Europe.
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"[Grobman's]
telling research reveals that the silence and paralysis that characterized
much of the behavior of American Jewish leadership during the Nazi era extended
into the crucial months after liberation . . . Fortunately, one group of
young men stepped into the breach. US Army chaplainswhose experience
rarely extended beyond conservative, orthodox, or reformed pulpitsmanaged
to save thousands of lives . . . These rabbis provided real leadership at
a time when designated leaders provided lame excuses for inaction. Dr. Grobman
is owed a debt of gratitude for introducing us to American Jewry's unsung
heroes."Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Simon Wiesenthal Center |