In Search of Romanian Jewry Before, During, and After the Holocaust

Scholarship about Romania and the Holocaust has slowly developed over the eight decades since the end of the Second World War, but there are many aspects that demand further investigation. Examples are studies dealing with gender, art, memorialization, literature, identity, and personal/professional memoirs of the Second and Third Generation of Romanian-Jewish survivors. In Search of Romanian Jewry Before, During, and After the Holocaust presents a supra-generational overview of Romanian Jewish studies, giving readers a taste of scholarship dealing with different eras and touching upon varied topics, including those listed above.

The volume is divided into six distinct sections, each dealing with either a different historical period, or with a specific focus. Some of the chapters are historical, others cultural, and a third group deals with personal transformation. Chapter authors represent a mixture of scholarly, cultural, and geographical backgrounds.

Geared towards both an academic and general audience, the book will appeal to readers who are interested in Holocaust studies with particular emphasis on the Holocaust in Romania, antisemitism and antisemitic literature, art as a means of expression during and after the Holocaust, the uses of Holocaust testimony, creation of First, Second and Third Generation identity, and Holocaust commemoration. It can also be used as a textbook for courses that pertain to the Holocaust and its aftermath and the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

Dr. Sylvia Hershcovitz completed her PhD at Bar Ilan University, Israel. She is a Spiegel Fellow of the Finkler Institute for Holocaust Research and a coordinator of its Romanian Forum. She specializes in Romanian Jewish History, Zionism and Gender studies, and Holocaust studies.

Prof. Judith Tydor Baumel-Schwartz is the Director of the Finkler Institute of Holocaust Research and Professor in the Israel and Golda Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. She has written and edited numerous books and articles about the Holocaust and its aftermath.