Dialogues in Holocaust Studies and the Second World War
History
About
This podcast features interviews with authors of new research, fresh monographs and recent books about the Holocaust and World War II.
Episodes
- Christopher Harrison, *Genocidal Conscription: Drafting Victims and Perpetrators under the Guise of War*. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2023.
In "Genocidal Conscription," Christopher Harrison analyzes how the Ottoman Empire in WWI and Hungary in WWII used military service to facilitate genocide amidst war. The book explores the implications for contemporary authoritarian regimes…
- Philip Uninsky, *Invented Lives from Troubled Times: A Jewish Family’s Forms of Resilience after Surviving Pogroms, Revolution and the Holocaust*. Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2026.
Philip Uninsky's book, "Invented Lives from Troubled Times," details a Jewish family's resilience through pogroms, revolution, and the Holocaust. It examines their shared memories, fabricated narratives, and diverse coping mechanisms as th…
- Frank Stahnisch, *Great Minds in Despair: The Forced Migration of German-Speaking Neuroscientists to North America, 1933 to 1989*. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2025.
This episode examines the forced migration of German-speaking neuroscientists to North America between 1933 and 1989. It explores their contributions to neuroscience, psychiatry, and cognitive sciences, and the challenges they faced in ada…
- Stefanie Fischer, *Jewish Cattle Traders in the German Countryside, 1919-1939: Economic Trust and Antisemitic Violence*. Jeremiah Riemer, trans. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2024.
This study by Stefanie Fischer examines Jewish cattle traders in Germany between 1919 and 1939, focusing on their economic and social networks and challenging antisemitic stereotypes. It explores the dynamics between Jews and non-Jews and…
- Mia Swart, *On Bonifratrow Street: How a Boy from Lwow Escaped the Nazis: Based on the Life of Michael Katz*. Hannover & Stuttgart, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2024.
Mia Swart's *On Bonifratrow Street* details the Holocaust survival of Michael Katz, a Jewish boy who escaped the Janowska concentration camp, hid in Warsaw, joined the Polish resistance, and participated in the Warsaw Uprising.
- Jacky Comforty and Martha Aladjem Bloomfield, *Stories We Were Never Told: Visualizing the Holocaust in Bulgaria and Beyond*. Self-Published by Jacky Comforty, 2026.
This episode discusses Jacky Comforty and Martha Aladjem Bloomfield's book on the Holocaust in Bulgaria. It addresses the obscured history, the myth of no Holocaust occurring, and the deportation and murder of at least 12,000 Jews, while a…
- Dariusz Jeziorny, *British Diplomacy and the Concept of the Eastern Pact (1933-1935): Analyses, Projects, Activities*. Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag, 2017
This monograph by Dariusz Jeziorny analyzes British diplomatic relations and the UK's perspective on the Eastern Pact between 1933 and 1935, examining the motivations and reactions to the initiative.
- David Stahel, *The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War*. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2025.
This episode reviews David Stahel's *The Cambridge Companion to the Nazi-Soviet War*, a guide by leading historians to the conflict's military strategies, criminality, and lasting legacies.
- Robert Cribb and Sandra Wilson, *Twelve Japanese War Criminals and One Who Got Away*. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2026.
This monograph examines twelve individuals convicted of war crimes in the Asia-Pacific region after WWII, including General Honma Masaharu and Tōjō Hideki, as well as lesser-known figures. It details their crimes, backgrounds, and postwar…
- Evan McGilvray, *Marshal Pilsudski and his Wars for Polish Freedom: Poland's Conflicts with Ukraine, Lithuania and Soviet Russia*. Yorkshire, UK: Pen & Sword Books, 2025.
This study examines Josef Pilsudski's role in Poland's fight for independence, including his strategic alliances and conflicts with Ukraine, Lithuania, and Soviet Russia, culminating in the pivotal 1920 counteroffensive.
- Pauline Steinhorn, *Dreaming of the River: A Mother and Daughter’s Fight for Survival in Slave Labor Camps and Bergen-Belsen*. Amsterdam: Amsterdam Publishers, 2026.
This episode recounts the true story of Bronia Feldman and her daughter Hajuta, who survived forced labor and Bergen-Belsen. Despite immense brutality, they held onto hope and memories of their past.
- Christine Schmidt, Elizabeth Anthony and Joanna Sliwa, *Older Jews and the Holocaust: Persecution, Displacement and Survival*. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2026.
This volume examines the experiences of elderly Jews during the Holocaust, a frequently overlooked demographic. The research highlights their vulnerability due to age and physical limitations while also uncovering instances of agency and s…
- Hans Soetaert, *The Scattered Library: The Various Fates of the Remnants of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexual Science Collection in France and Czechoslovakia, 1932-1942*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.
The book examines the scattered collection of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute of Sexual Science, documenting its various fates in France and Czechoslovakia between 1932 and 1942. It also covers Hirschfeld's final years and the roles of Karl…
- Lucia Ceci, *The Vatican and Mussolini's Italy*. Peter Spring, trans. Leiden: Brill, 2017.
This episode discusses Lucia Ceci's book, "The Vatican and Mussolini's Italy," which explores the complex relationship between the Catholic Church and Fascism. Using Vatican Archives, the book sheds light on Mussolini's rise, the Ethiopian…
- Ernest Gyidel, *Ukrainian Public Nationalism in the General Government: The Case of Krakivski Visti, 1940-44*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.
Ernest Gyidel
- Peter Anderson and Miguel Ángel del Arco Blanco ,*Franco's Famine: Malnutrition, Disease and Starvation in Post-Civil War Spain*. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.
This book analyzes the political roots of the 1940s Spanish famine, where Francoist autarky policies led to widespread hunger, disease, and death, exacerbated by a black market and the regime's rejection of aid.
- Daria Mattingly and John Vsetecka, eds., *The Holodomor in Global Perspective: How the Famine in Ukraine Shaped the World*. Hannover, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2025.
This episode discusses the book 'The Holodomor in Global Perspective,' which examines the 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine. It highlights the famine's global impact and its influence on international dynamics, presenting multidisciplinary persp…
- Izabela Kazejak, *Jews in Post-War Wrocław and L’Viv: Official Policies and Local Responses in Comparative Perspective, 1945-1970s*. Stuttgart, Germany: Ibidem Verlag, 2023.
This book compares Jewish community revival in post-war Wrocław and L’Viv under Polish and Soviet Communist regimes. It analyzes government policies, local responses, antisemitism, and modernization, explaining why these revival efforts ul…
- Michael Halperin, *Out of the Storm: Holocaust to Hope*. Boston: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.
The memoir 'Out of the Storm: Holocaust to Hope' recounts the story of the Polish Roslan family who aided Jewish brothers in fleeing the Warsaw Ghetto and survived the Holocaust and difficult post-war years marked by antisemitism.
- Istvan Pal Adam, *Budapest Building Managers and the Holocaust in Hungary*. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
Istvan Pal Adam's book "Budapest Building Managers and the Holocaust in Hungary" details the experiences of approximately 20,000 building managers during the Holocaust in 1944 Budapest. It examines their choices in assisting tenants and th…
- Alexa Morris and Benjamin Parket, *The Courtyard: A Memoir.* Amsterdam, Netherlands: Amsterdam Publishers, 2025.
This memoir recounts the story of the Parkiet family in Nazi-occupied Paris, highlighting how their neighbors risked their lives to protect them during the Holocaust. It emphasizes themes of bravery and kindness in the face of immense evil.
- Gabriel Laufer, ed. and trans., *A Voice from the Lost Town of Trochenbrod: A Translation of Yisrael Beider’s Poems, Essays and Letters*. Gabriel Laufer, Andrew Cassel and Ellen Cassedy, trans. Newton, MA: Cherry Orchard Books, 2025.
This episode reviews Gabriel Laufer's translation of Yisrael Beider's complete surviving writings, offering a firsthand account of life in the Jewish town of Trochenbrod before its obliteration during the Holocaust.
- Laszlo Borhi, *Survival Under Dictatorships: Life and Death in Nazi and Communist Regimes*. Budapest, Hungary: Central European University Press, 2024.
László Borhi examines survival strategies under Nazi and Communist dictatorships in East-Central Europe, arguing that experiences of National Socialism and Stalinism are intertwined and that survival skills were sometimes learned from prio…
- Susanne Paola Antonetta, *The Devil’s Castle: Nazi Eugenics, Euthanasia, and How Psychiatry’s Troubled History Reverberates Today*. Los Angeles and San Francisco, California: Counterpoint Press, 2025.
Susanne Paola Antonetta
- Robert Sommer, *The Concentration Camp Brothel: Forced Sexual Labor Under Nazi Rule.* Dominic Bonfiglio, trans. New York: Fordham University Press, 2025
Robert Sommer's book investigates forced sexual labor within the Nazi SS camp system, analyzing the establishment, operation, and impact of concentration camp brothels. The research includes archival work and survivor interviews, contextua…