This project has concluded.

General Research
The Letters and Memoirs of German Jewish Refugees
Project Summary
This project analyzes a range of archival documents including unpublished memoirs and letters written by Jewish refugees from Germany who fled during the Nazi era and resettled in the U.S. before the end of World War II. Written largely in German, these documents when read together yield a complex and varied portrait of refugee collective identity--what it meant to these survivors to be stateless, (former) Germans, Americans (to be) Jewish, women and men. There is important evidence in these letters and memoirs about how they made their decisions to leave, their difficulties in obtaining the necessary papers to emigrate legally and what they did when legal emigration was no longer possible. Also included in these papers are survivors' first impressions of the U.S., the difficulties they encountered and how they coped with those challenges.


Applicant Responsibilities

The student will be asked to read and translate already discovered archival documents--primarily unpublished memoirs and letters addressed to family members and friends that German Jewish refugees during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Though there will be some line by line translation, other documents require a summary. If the student is interested, I would like to co-author an article using these sources.


Mentoring Plan
Mentorship plan has Virtual contingency:

Mentoring Plan Details:
I am both an hands-on, directive mentor and also respectful of people's needs to make a research project their own. Though I am happy to negotiate the details with the student, I envision meeting weekly during each semester following a more thorough orientation to the general project. If the student wishes, continuation with the project after it formally ends is possible assuming we both agree.

Virtual Mentoring Plan Details:

# of positions requested:

# of positions allowed: 1


Project Details
The commitment expected from the student:
Four - five hours weekly. Academic year preferred but one semester is also possible.

The compensation for the student:
3 credits each semester

The campus location:
Cook/Douglass

The building:
Though meetings will occur in my faculty office at Douglass, research may be completed anywhere.

Project website:


Project Availability
Public Access

Application Type
Automated Online




Timelines
The first date to apply to this project:
Friday, March 1, 2013

The last date to apply to this project:
Monday, April 15, 2013

The date the research will begin:
Monday, September 30, 2013

The date the research will end:
Friday, May 2, 2014

The duration of the project:
Academic Year


Advisors / Investigators
Full NameEmailRole 
Gerson, Judithgerson@rci.rutgers.eduPrincipal Primary


Department / Academic Units
Department / Academic Unit
SAS - Jewish Studies
Aresty Research Center
SAS - Sociology
SAS - Women's & Gender Studies


Subject Headings
Subject Heading
American Ethnic Studies
Germanics
Holocaust
Identity
Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Sociology


Applicant Requirements
RequirementValue
CoursesStrong reading knowledge of German

Documents
NameDescription
Memory Book Title Page of Jews from Kirchberg First page of a memory book of Jews from Kirchberg entitled "Reconciliation Requires Remembrance"