Dalia Ofer | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (original) (raw)
Papers by Dalia Ofer
German Studies Review, May 1, 2000
As Jews throughout Europe faced Nazi persecution, Jewish women-wives, daughters, mothers-encounte... more As Jews throughout Europe faced Nazi persecution, Jewish women-wives, daughters, mothers-encountered special problems and had particular vulnerabilities. This is the first book of original scholarship devoted to women in the Holocaust. Testimonies of Holocaust survivors and chapters by eminent historians, sociologists, and literary experts shed light on women's lives in the ghettos, the Jewish resistance movement, and the concentration camps. By examining women's unique responses, their incredible resourcefulness, their courage and their suffering, the book enhances our understanding of the experiences of all Jews during the Nazi era. "A pioneering book."-Saul Friedlander, UCLA and Tel Aviv University "The cutting edge of Holocaust Studies."-Wall Street Journal "A major contribution to our understanding."-Times (London) "An excellent book that shows how the study of gender can deepen our understanding of the Holocaust."-Michael Berenbaum, President, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation "The astonishing strengths and resilience of women in these studies seem to rise out."-Forward
De Gruyter eBooks, Mar 6, 2023
Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty,... more Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty, constant fear, loss of employment, dispossession, social con straints, and destruction of professional networks all shattered the family's inter nal equilibrium and endangered its ability to persevere. Families-nuclear and extended families, couples, parents and children, siblings-had to find ways to obtain sustenance and safe housing and to rework their relations. The kind of environment that might have helped them maintain solidarity and keep going is hard to determine. The answer depends on both external and internal factors. The type of setting-village, town, city-, the pace and dynamic of the oppression, and internal and external connections all counted in a family's ability or inability to sustain itself. Internal factors relate to the conditions within the Jewish commu nity and the patterns of internal life that it adopted to alleviate the burden of the Nazi yoke. Of significance here was the economic and social state of the family. However, solidarity, cooperation, and psychological resilience among family members before the war were crucial. We usually have little information about these, and the evidence we can glean from contemporary sources is fragmentary. Most contemporary sources, such as diaries or letters, disclose information solely through the lens of the writer and relate to a limited period of time. Seldom do they illuminate the detailed background of a family's life. Consequently, a tentative rather than a definite approach to research on fami lies would seem appropriate. However, by combining the available sources with the use of social, cultural, and psychological categories, scholars can express assump tions about the impact of the oppression on family life and structure. Questions about changes in relations among family members and about how each member tried to fulfill the roles assigned to them by social and individual values and con ventions may be answered in part. Below I limit the discussion to Eastern Europe and focus on the ghettos and the voices of male heads of household as husbands, fathers, and sons of elder parents. Elsewhere1 I describe the complex reality of families between the two extremes of cohesion and rupture. There I find families' daily lives characterized by instabil ity and great vulnerability. However, the better off the family was financially, the broader its social network and the closer its social or professional connections to
The American Historical Review, Dec 1, 1999
Modern Judaism, 1984
... Naturally enough, one of the more important considerations would be his reputation with other... more ... Naturally enough, one of the more important considerations would be his reputation with other Jewish organizations within the Reich itself. The fact that Lowenherz relied on Storfer must have weighed heavily in his favor. But the fact that Aliyah organizers for the He-chalutz and ...
Israel Studies, Oct 1, 2007
... her. Following the visit, she understood his efforts at commemoration, and that he wanted to ... more ... her. Following the visit, she understood his efforts at commemoration, and that he wanted to disseminate the information about the failed Kladovo transport. The sad conclusion was that she had not really been there with him. ...
Academic Studies Press eBooks, Dec 14, 2021
As part of a wider project investigating the lives of Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Eastern Eu... more As part of a wider project investigating the lives of Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, this paper will concentrate on the origins, initiatives, and structure of Jewish formal education in the city of Warsaw, and that of the ghetto period. I will begin with some introductory remarks on the Jewish educational system and its goals in Poland between the two world wars.
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 1989
... at Google Indexer on September 1, 2010 hgs.oxfordjournals.org Downloaded from Page 9. PERSONA... more ... at Google Indexer on September 1, 2010 hgs.oxfordjournals.org Downloaded from Page 9. PERSONAL LETTERS ON THE HOLOCAUST 349 B. Information about daily life on the boats or in Kladovo and Sabac. Here we find ...
In the shadoW oF the holocaust During World War II Jewish parents under Nazi occupation experienc... more In the shadoW oF the holocaust During World War II Jewish parents under Nazi occupation experienced unimaginable difficulties as they tried to function according to what they believed was their parental responsibility, which included first of all safe haven to the children, to supply enough food, to care for their health and education. The degree of each of the factors mentioned differed according to country and class. In the eastern European ghettos the situation was extremely complex: When hunger, forced labor, and death became the daily experience, living conditions were next to impossible and parents faced unbearable dilemmas in their efforts to maintain the family and their parental responsibility. Nevertheless, the family remained central to life in the ghetto, serving as both a support and a burden. Parents lived in constant tension trying to care for both their own lives and the lives of their children. When we read the primary documents of the time-diaries, letters, memoirs, and other sources-as well as the oral testimonies that were recorded later, we confront a paradox. On the one hand, we see parents who are totally devoted to their children and ready to sacrifice their own lives to save a child. On the other hand, these same sources describe parents who neglect and desert their children. Because the contemporary documentation is fragmented, in both formal and personal sources, it is difficult if not completely impossible to follow individual families from the years that preceded the war through their entire ghetto experience. Therefore scholars should be careful and cautious with any generalizations. My recent work has examined two dimensions of family experiences in the ghetto. In "Cohesion and Rupture: The Jewish Family in the East European Ghettos during the Holocaust," I explored tensions within the family unit, and in "Motherhood under Siege," I looked at the pressures on theologie.geschichte Beiheft 8/2013
The Journal of Holocaust Research, Jan 2, 2022
ABSTRACT The focus of this article is the author's experience as both a student and a colleag... more ABSTRACT The focus of this article is the author's experience as both a student and a colleague of Prof. Bauer and its impact on her development as a historian of the Holocaust. It is a reflection of her contemporary interpretation of their long years of activity at the Hebrew University. The article relates to Bauer as a teacher and a leader of Holocaust studies in Israel. The author addresses the seminars Bauer conducted with students of different backgrounds and his influence on patterns and methodologies of research. Her experience in the Vidal Sassoon Center of Research of Antisemitism manifests Bauer's impact on her understanding of academic leadership, which followed her in other academic appointments.
Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022
The Holocaust and its contexts, 2020
The Jewish Quarterly Review, Apr 1, 1994
De Gruyter eBooks, Mar 6, 2023
Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty,... more Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty, constant fear, loss of employment, dispossession, social con straints, and destruction of professional networks all shattered the family's inter nal equilibrium and endangered its ability to persevere. Families-nuclear and extended families, couples, parents and children, siblings-had to find ways to obtain sustenance and safe housing and to rework their relations. The kind of environment that might have helped them maintain solidarity and keep going is hard to determine. The answer depends on both external and internal factors. The type of setting-village, town, city-, the pace and dynamic of the oppression, and internal and external connections all counted in a family's ability or inability to sustain itself. Internal factors relate to the conditions within the Jewish commu nity and the patterns of internal life that it adopted to alleviate the burden of the Nazi yoke. Of significance here was the economic and social state of the family. However, solidarity, cooperation, and psychological resilience among family members before the war were crucial. We usually have little information about these, and the evidence we can glean from contemporary sources is fragmentary. Most contemporary sources, such as diaries or letters, disclose information solely through the lens of the writer and relate to a limited period of time. Seldom do they illuminate the detailed background of a family's life. Consequently, a tentative rather than a definite approach to research on fami lies would seem appropriate. However, by combining the available sources with the use of social, cultural, and psychological categories, scholars can express assump tions about the impact of the oppression on family life and structure. Questions about changes in relations among family members and about how each member tried to fulfill the roles assigned to them by social and individual values and con ventions may be answered in part. Below I limit the discussion to Eastern Europe and focus on the ghettos and the voices of male heads of household as husbands, fathers, and sons of elder parents. Elsewhere1 I describe the complex reality of families between the two extremes of cohesion and rupture. There I find families' daily lives characterized by instabil ity and great vulnerability. However, the better off the family was financially, the broader its social network and the closer its social or professional connections to
German Studies Review, May 1, 2000
As Jews throughout Europe faced Nazi persecution, Jewish women-wives, daughters, mothers-encounte... more As Jews throughout Europe faced Nazi persecution, Jewish women-wives, daughters, mothers-encountered special problems and had particular vulnerabilities. This is the first book of original scholarship devoted to women in the Holocaust. Testimonies of Holocaust survivors and chapters by eminent historians, sociologists, and literary experts shed light on women's lives in the ghettos, the Jewish resistance movement, and the concentration camps. By examining women's unique responses, their incredible resourcefulness, their courage and their suffering, the book enhances our understanding of the experiences of all Jews during the Nazi era. "A pioneering book."-Saul Friedlander, UCLA and Tel Aviv University "The cutting edge of Holocaust Studies."-Wall Street Journal "A major contribution to our understanding."-Times (London) "An excellent book that shows how the study of gender can deepen our understanding of the Holocaust."-Michael Berenbaum, President, Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation "The astonishing strengths and resilience of women in these studies seem to rise out."-Forward
De Gruyter eBooks, Mar 6, 2023
Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty,... more Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty, constant fear, loss of employment, dispossession, social con straints, and destruction of professional networks all shattered the family's inter nal equilibrium and endangered its ability to persevere. Families-nuclear and extended families, couples, parents and children, siblings-had to find ways to obtain sustenance and safe housing and to rework their relations. The kind of environment that might have helped them maintain solidarity and keep going is hard to determine. The answer depends on both external and internal factors. The type of setting-village, town, city-, the pace and dynamic of the oppression, and internal and external connections all counted in a family's ability or inability to sustain itself. Internal factors relate to the conditions within the Jewish commu nity and the patterns of internal life that it adopted to alleviate the burden of the Nazi yoke. Of significance here was the economic and social state of the family. However, solidarity, cooperation, and psychological resilience among family members before the war were crucial. We usually have little information about these, and the evidence we can glean from contemporary sources is fragmentary. Most contemporary sources, such as diaries or letters, disclose information solely through the lens of the writer and relate to a limited period of time. Seldom do they illuminate the detailed background of a family's life. Consequently, a tentative rather than a definite approach to research on fami lies would seem appropriate. However, by combining the available sources with the use of social, cultural, and psychological categories, scholars can express assump tions about the impact of the oppression on family life and structure. Questions about changes in relations among family members and about how each member tried to fulfill the roles assigned to them by social and individual values and con ventions may be answered in part. Below I limit the discussion to Eastern Europe and focus on the ghettos and the voices of male heads of household as husbands, fathers, and sons of elder parents. Elsewhere1 I describe the complex reality of families between the two extremes of cohesion and rupture. There I find families' daily lives characterized by instabil ity and great vulnerability. However, the better off the family was financially, the broader its social network and the closer its social or professional connections to
The American Historical Review, Dec 1, 1999
Modern Judaism, 1984
... Naturally enough, one of the more important considerations would be his reputation with other... more ... Naturally enough, one of the more important considerations would be his reputation with other Jewish organizations within the Reich itself. The fact that Lowenherz relied on Storfer must have weighed heavily in his favor. But the fact that Aliyah organizers for the He-chalutz and ...
Israel Studies, Oct 1, 2007
... her. Following the visit, she understood his efforts at commemoration, and that he wanted to ... more ... her. Following the visit, she understood his efforts at commemoration, and that he wanted to disseminate the information about the failed Kladovo transport. The sad conclusion was that she had not really been there with him. ...
Academic Studies Press eBooks, Dec 14, 2021
As part of a wider project investigating the lives of Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Eastern Eu... more As part of a wider project investigating the lives of Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, this paper will concentrate on the origins, initiatives, and structure of Jewish formal education in the city of Warsaw, and that of the ghetto period. I will begin with some introductory remarks on the Jewish educational system and its goals in Poland between the two world wars.
Holocaust and Genocide Studies, 1989
... at Google Indexer on September 1, 2010 hgs.oxfordjournals.org Downloaded from Page 9. PERSONA... more ... at Google Indexer on September 1, 2010 hgs.oxfordjournals.org Downloaded from Page 9. PERSONAL LETTERS ON THE HOLOCAUST 349 B. Information about daily life on the boats or in Kladovo and Sabac. Here we find ...
In the shadoW oF the holocaust During World War II Jewish parents under Nazi occupation experienc... more In the shadoW oF the holocaust During World War II Jewish parents under Nazi occupation experienced unimaginable difficulties as they tried to function according to what they believed was their parental responsibility, which included first of all safe haven to the children, to supply enough food, to care for their health and education. The degree of each of the factors mentioned differed according to country and class. In the eastern European ghettos the situation was extremely complex: When hunger, forced labor, and death became the daily experience, living conditions were next to impossible and parents faced unbearable dilemmas in their efforts to maintain the family and their parental responsibility. Nevertheless, the family remained central to life in the ghetto, serving as both a support and a burden. Parents lived in constant tension trying to care for both their own lives and the lives of their children. When we read the primary documents of the time-diaries, letters, memoirs, and other sources-as well as the oral testimonies that were recorded later, we confront a paradox. On the one hand, we see parents who are totally devoted to their children and ready to sacrifice their own lives to save a child. On the other hand, these same sources describe parents who neglect and desert their children. Because the contemporary documentation is fragmented, in both formal and personal sources, it is difficult if not completely impossible to follow individual families from the years that preceded the war through their entire ghetto experience. Therefore scholars should be careful and cautious with any generalizations. My recent work has examined two dimensions of family experiences in the ghetto. In "Cohesion and Rupture: The Jewish Family in the East European Ghettos during the Holocaust," I explored tensions within the family unit, and in "Motherhood under Siege," I looked at the pressures on theologie.geschichte Beiheft 8/2013
The Journal of Holocaust Research, Jan 2, 2022
ABSTRACT The focus of this article is the author's experience as both a student and a colleag... more ABSTRACT The focus of this article is the author's experience as both a student and a colleague of Prof. Bauer and its impact on her development as a historian of the Holocaust. It is a reflection of her contemporary interpretation of their long years of activity at the Hebrew University. The article relates to Bauer as a teacher and a leader of Holocaust studies in Israel. The author addresses the seminars Bauer conducted with students of different backgrounds and his influence on patterns and methodologies of research. Her experience in the Vidal Sassoon Center of Research of Antisemitism manifests Bauer's impact on her understanding of academic leadership, which followed her in other academic appointments.
Berghahn Books, Dec 31, 2022
The Holocaust and its contexts, 2020
The Jewish Quarterly Review, Apr 1, 1994
De Gruyter eBooks, Mar 6, 2023
Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty,... more Nazi oppression impacted every aspect of family life and all family members. Terror, uncertainty, constant fear, loss of employment, dispossession, social con straints, and destruction of professional networks all shattered the family's inter nal equilibrium and endangered its ability to persevere. Families-nuclear and extended families, couples, parents and children, siblings-had to find ways to obtain sustenance and safe housing and to rework their relations. The kind of environment that might have helped them maintain solidarity and keep going is hard to determine. The answer depends on both external and internal factors. The type of setting-village, town, city-, the pace and dynamic of the oppression, and internal and external connections all counted in a family's ability or inability to sustain itself. Internal factors relate to the conditions within the Jewish commu nity and the patterns of internal life that it adopted to alleviate the burden of the Nazi yoke. Of significance here was the economic and social state of the family. However, solidarity, cooperation, and psychological resilience among family members before the war were crucial. We usually have little information about these, and the evidence we can glean from contemporary sources is fragmentary. Most contemporary sources, such as diaries or letters, disclose information solely through the lens of the writer and relate to a limited period of time. Seldom do they illuminate the detailed background of a family's life. Consequently, a tentative rather than a definite approach to research on fami lies would seem appropriate. However, by combining the available sources with the use of social, cultural, and psychological categories, scholars can express assump tions about the impact of the oppression on family life and structure. Questions about changes in relations among family members and about how each member tried to fulfill the roles assigned to them by social and individual values and con ventions may be answered in part. Below I limit the discussion to Eastern Europe and focus on the ghettos and the voices of male heads of household as husbands, fathers, and sons of elder parents. Elsewhere1 I describe the complex reality of families between the two extremes of cohesion and rupture. There I find families' daily lives characterized by instabil ity and great vulnerability. However, the better off the family was financially, the broader its social network and the closer its social or professional connections to