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A collection of poetry from the Holocaust leads the author to uncover the remarkable story of Else Dormitzer. The book traces her life from pre-war Nuremberg to war-torn Amsterdam, from the confines of the Theresienstadt ghetto to post-war life in London. The result is a deeply personal story of a woman at the margin of memory.
List of contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter One: Hilversum and London, 1945–1946
Chapter Two: Nuremberg, 1877–1939
Chapter Three: Hilversum and Amsterdam, 1939–1943
Chapter Four: Theresienstadt, 1943–1945
Chapter Five: London and Hilversum, 1946–1958
Appendix
Translator’s Note
Pictures from Theresienstadt
Theresienstädter Bilder
Experiences in Nuremberg, Holland, Theresienstadt, and during the Transport back to Holland
Erlebnisse in Nürnberg, Holland, Theresienstadt und beim Rücktransport nach Holland
Life in Theresienstadt
Leben in Theresienstadt
The Night of Broken Glass
Die Kristallnacht
Illustrations
Bibliography
About the author
Sandra Alfers is Professor of German and the founding & executive director of The Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. Her research focuses on Holocaust Literature, particularly on German-language poetry from the Theresienstadt ghetto.
Summary
The remarkable, untold story of one Holocaust survivor's resilience against all odds, discovered through a chance encounter with a collection of her wartime poetry.
Originally from Nuremberg, Germany, Else Dormitzer dedicated much of her life to combating antisemitism in a city that became synonymous with Nazi propaganda and spectacle in the Third Reich. Drawing on materials from the family’s extensive personal archive, Traces of Memory follows her life from pre-war Nuremberg to war-torn Amsterdam, from the confines of the Theresienstadt ghetto to post-war life in London. The result is a deeply personal story of a woman at the margins of memory. Accompanied by historical photographs, the book includes Dormitzer’s original poetry collection from Theresienstadt and three testimonial accounts of her Holocaust experience to keep alive the work and story of a singular woman.
