In her recent book, Rebecca Clifford follows the path of child survivors of the Holocaust from the moment the war ended through their later lives. In so doing, she reveals how they built new relationships, attempted to construct normative behaviours and feelings, and adjusted to a new life. This week, we will read the conclusion of her book alongside a newly published memoir from a child Holocaust survivor, Lily Ebert. This book intersects with a lot of the themes Clifford explores: co-written with her great grandson it touches on family connections, produced late in life (Lily is aged 97 at publication!) it represents a combination of memory and research, and charting a long journey it tells a story of change and development. Together, the two readings promise to open up a discussion on survival and post-war life as well as memory, identity and intergenerational trauma. Reading Clifford’s book in advance of her speaking at the Holocaust Seminar in week 7 gives an excellent opportunity to prepare and make the most out of her presentation.

Rebecca Clifford, ‘Conclusion’, in Survivors: Children’s Lives after the Holocaust (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020).

Lily Ebert and Dov Forman, Lily’s Promise: How I survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live (Basingstoke: Pan Macmillan, 2021).

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