Saints and Liars - The Story of Americans Who Saved Refugees from the Nazis

Long before their country officially joined the war, American aid workers were active in rescue efforts across Europe. Two such Americans were Martha and Waitstill Sharp, who were originally sent to Prague as part of a relief effort but turned immediately to helping Jews and dissidents after the 1939 invasion by Germany.

They were not the only ones. Renowned historian Debórah Dwork follows the story of rescue workers in five major cities as the refugee crisis expanded to Vilna, Shanghai, Marseille, and Lisbon. Followed by Nazi agents, spiriting people across borders, they learned secrecy.

Others negotiated with government representatives, like Laura Margolis, who worked with the Japanese, to get enough food and warm shelter for the refugees in Shanghai. Yet, the women also often faced lack of support from their agencies; if part of a couple, they fought to get paid even at a low salary despite working as long and hard as their husbands.

Moving and revelatory, Saints and Liars illuminates the unpredictable circumstances and often fast-changing historical events with which these aid workers contended, while revealing the moral questions they encountered and the devastating decisions they had to make.

Drawing on a multitude of archival documents, from letters to diaries and memos, Dwork offers us a rare glimpse into the lives of individuals who-at times with their organizations' backing, but sometimes against their directives-sought to help people find safe haven from persecution.

About the author

Debórah Dwork is director of the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at the Graduate Center—CUNY. Author (with Robert Jan van Pelt) of Flight from the Reich, Holocaust, and Auschwitz, among other works, she lives in New York.

Product details

• Authors: Debórah Dwork
• Publisher: Norton
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.01.2025
• EAN: 9781324020349
• ISBN: 978-1-324-02034-9
• No. of pages: 256
• Dimensions: 158 mm x 24 mm x 238 mm
• Weight: 436 g
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); USA, 20th Century, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Jewish, HISTORY / United States / 20th Century, HISTORY / Military / United States, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Second World War, The Holocaust, Social and cultural history, United States of America, USA, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), History of the Americas, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), Relating to Jewish people and groups, HISTORY / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / General, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Holocaust