Generation Exodus: The Fate of Young Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany

Some half a million Jews lived in Germany when Hitler came to power in 1933. Over the next decade, thousands would flee. Among these refugees, teens and young adults formed a remarkable generation. Born between 1914 and 1928 (approximately), they were old enough to appreciate the loss of their homeland and the experience of flight, but often young and flexible enough to survive and even flourish in new environments. Many would go on to make great contributions to their new countries and to the world.

The young Jews who fled the Nazis escaped to Palestine and the US, to the Soviet Union and England, to South America and Shanghai and Australia. Some even remained in Germany, in hiding throughout the war. From a variety of backgrounds—some secular, some observant; some Zionists, some German patriots; some poor, some well-to-do—they are united by the experience of flight from Nazi persecution during their formative years. This generation has produced such disparate figures as Henry Kissinger and "Dr. Ruth" Westheimer; noted academics and political leaders of both Israel and East Germany; even a Benedictine abbot, a Hindu guru, and a West African chieftain. Using interviews, published and unpublished memoirs, and his own experiences, Walter Laqueur skillfully combines numerous individual stories and experiences to paint a vivid collective portrait.

The dramatic and varied experiences of young Jews who fled the Nazis.

Publishers Weekly

"For them it was a question of swimming or sinking. For some of this generation it can certainly be said that but for Hitler and the Nazis they would never have gone as far in life as they did." Noted historian (Weimar: A Cultural History; A History of Zionism) and current chairman of the Research Council of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., Laqueur writes about a generation of German Jews who were in their teens or early 20s when they fled Germany and Austria between 1933 and 1941 a generation of refugees (of which he is a member) that would eventually include a disproportionately large number of successful, even world-renowned, men and women. Drawing on interviews and published and unpublished memoirs, he relates a series of representative anecdotes that testify to an astonishing variety of experiences and serve as a valuable contribution to Holocaust literature. Although large numbers of Jews went to Palestine, Great Britain and the U.S., others, like the author Ruth Prawer-Jhabvala, found refuge in India and elsewhere. Many of the survivors were forever broken by the experience, while others, like Henry Kissinger, were bolstered in their resolve to succeed and did so eminently. Some helped build the nation of Israel, and still others tried to deny their heritage after the war. Laqueur makes the point that luck and accident had an important role in their individual survival. (Apr. 20) Forecast: Though this book comes from a relatively small university press, Laqueur is a major Holocaust historian and editor-in-chief of Yale's Holocaust Encyclopedia, a notable reference volume also coming out in April; sales of Generation Exodus should piggyback on that. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Walter Laquer chairs the Research Council of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He is founder and editor of the Journal of Contemporary History and author of numerous titles, including A History of Zionism and Terrible Secret