As the Nazi regime intensified its persecution of its Jewish citizens, many turned to relatives abroad for help to escape. This extraordinary collection of letters, now housed in the American Jewish Committee Archives, tells of one family’s appeals to a cousin in the United States. It is a tale of bureaucratic obstruction, hostile immigration authorities, French internment camps, and an ordinary American Jew, struggling to keep his business afloat, faced with a tragedy beyond his comprehension.
The agonizing correspondence between Jewish family members ensnared in the Nazi grip and their American relatives
Just a week after the Kristallnacht terror in 1938, young Luzie Hatch, a German Jew, fled Berlin to resettle in New York. Her rescuer was an American-born cousin and industrialist, Arnold Hatch. Arnold spoke no German, so Luzie quickly became translator, intermediary, and advocate for family left behind. Soon an unending stream of desperate requests from German relatives made their way to Arnold's desk.
Luzie Hatch had faithfully preserved her letters both to and from far-flung relatives during the World War II era as well as copies of letters written on their behalf. This extraordinary collection, now housed at the American Jewish Committee Archives, serves as the framework for Exit Berlin. Charlotte R. Bonelli offers a vantage point rich with historical context, from biographical information about the correspondents to background on U.S. immigration laws, conditions at the Vichy internment camps, refuge in Shanghai, and many other topics, thus transforming the letters into a riveting narrative.
Arnold's letters reveal an unfamiliar side of Holocaust history. His are the responses of an "average" American Jew, struggling to keep his own business afloat while also assisting dozens of relatives trapped abroad-most of whom he had never met and whose deathly situation he could not fully comprehend. This book contributes importantly to historical understanding while also uncovering the dramatic story of one besieged family confronting unimaginable evil.
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https://www.psbooks.co.uk/exit-berlin-how-one-woman-saved-her-family-from-nazi-germany-9780300197525501050Exit Berlinhttps://www.psbooks.co.uk/media/catalog/product/5/0/501050_a6bcc5ea0a951647b41256d708429b60.jpg7.997.99GBPInStock/History/Non-Fiction/Highlights/History/Military History/Categories/World War TwoAs the Nazi regime intensified its persecution of its Jewish citizens, many turned to relatives abroad for help to escape. This extraordinary collection of letters, now housed in the American Jewish Committee Archives, tells of one family’s appeals to a cousin in the United States. It is a tale of bureaucratic obstruction, hostile immigration authorities, French internment camps, and an ordinary American Jew, struggling to keep his business afloat, faced with a tragedy beyond his comprehension.Hardback00add-to-cartrrp_info:£20.00productId:39112bic_code:HBJD, HBLW, HBTZ1, JFSHBJD, HBLW, HBTZ1, JFS£20.00Charlotte R Bonelli, Trans. Natascha BodemannGeneral208x139mmYale UPNoHardbackEuropean
