Whether it's a novel, memoir, diary, poem, or drama, a common thread runs through the literature of the Nazi Holocaust--a motif of personal testimony to the dearness of humanity. With that perspective the expert authors of Encyclopedia of Holocaust Literature undertake profiling 128 of the most influential first generation authors who either survived, perished, or were closely connected to the Holocaust. Arranged alphabetically by author, all of the entries answer the same basic questions about the author and his or her work: What is the nature of the author's literary response to the Holocaust? What is his or her place in Holocaust literature? What does the author's work contribute to an understanding of the Holocaust? What is distinctive about the author's work? What are some key moments in the author's life? What issues does the author's work pose for the reader? To address these questions, the entries are generally organized into three primary divisions: (1) an opening section on why the author's work has a significant or distinctive place in Holocaust literature, (2) a second section containing information on the author's biography, and (3) a critical examination of the highlights of the author's work. In most cases, the third section is the longest, since the focus of the encyclopedia is the literature, not the author.

The Encyclopedia is intended for all students and teachers of the Holocaust, regardless of their levels of learning. Avenues for further research are incorporated at the conclusion of each entry and in a comprehensive bibliography of primary works of Holocaust literature and a second bibliography of critical studies of Holocaust literature.

Elie Wiesel: Humanist Messenger for Peace is part biography and part moral history of the intellectual and spiritual journey of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, human rights activist, author, university professor, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. In this concise text, Alan L. Berger portrays Wiesel's transformation from a pre-Holocaust, deeply God-fearing youth to a survivor of the Shoah who was left with questions for both God and man. An advisor to American presidents of both political parties, his nearly 60 books voiced an activism on behalf of oppressed people everywhere. The book illuminates Wiesel's contributions in the areas of religion, human rights, literature, and Jewish thought to show the impact that he has had on American life. Supported by primary documents about and from Wiesel, the volume gives students a gateway to explore Wiesel's incredible life. This book will make a great addition to courses on American religious or intellectual thought.

Emerging Trends in Third-Generation Holocaust Literature offers fresh approaches to understanding how grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and perpetrators treat their traumatic legacies. The contributors to this volume present a two-fold perspective: that the past continues to live in the lives of the third-generation and that artistic responses to trauma assume a variety of genres, including film, graphic novels, and literature. This generation is acculturated yet set apart from their peers by virtue of their traumatic inheritance. The chapters raise several key questions: How is it possible to negotiate the difference between what Daniel Mendelson terms proximity and distance? How can the post-memorial generation both be faithful to Holocaust memory and embrace a message of hope? Can this generation play a constructive educational role? And, finally, why should society care? At a time when the lessons and legacies of Auschwitz are either banalized or under assault, the authors in this volume have a message which ideally should serve to morally center those who live after the event.

A most welcome event. Now, in one easily accessible volume, all the collective wisdom of some of the very best contemporary Jewish scholarship is at one's fingertips.
--Steven T. Katz, Cornell University

"As a teacher of a modern Jewish history course, I'll constantly be referring my students to this collection of insightful articles on major issues relating to modern Jewish identity by some of today's leading Jewish Studies scholars."
--Lawrence Baron Nasatir, Professor of Modern Jewish History and Director, Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies, San Diego State University

"In this sweeping volume, fourteen of American Jewry's best scholars and thinkers confront the central issues that define Jews and Judaism in the modern world. . . . One emerges with renewed appreciation for the tragedies, hopes, ideals and paradoxes of twentieth century Jewish life.
--Jonathan D. Sarna, Joseph H., & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

As anti-semitism finds new followers and Israel makes peace with old enemies, Jews in the modern world face constantly metamorphosizing relationships. From the eighteenth century to the present, unprecedented opportunities have grown up alongside new challenges for the Jewish people. While modern society is permitting Judaism a place, profound questions over Jewish identity are taking shape.

The essays gathered in Judaism in the Modern World address the issue of Jewish persistence amidst changing forms of identity. Exploring a wide range of sources, the essayists examine historical issues, the Holocaust and its repercussions, literature, and theological dimensions while seeking the nature of Judaism in moderntimes. As they reassess Judaism's past while pursuing a meaningful Jewish future, these essays raise crucial questions about the tradition's central mythic structures, such as covenant and redemption.

The contributors to this volume broach everything from feminism to the creation of the state of Israel. Sander Gilman illustrates how Jewish identity is inextricably linked to the physical, showing how racial identity both reflects and defines Jewishness. Raul Hilberg examines Holocaust remembrance, in the wake of Holocaust denial, as an act of revolt. A wide-ranging and thoughtful collection, Judaism in the Modern World will appeal to readers concerned with the fate of Judaism in the modern era.

Elie Wiesel: Humanist Messenger for Peace is part biography and part moral history of the intellectual and spiritual journey of Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, human rights activist, author, university professor, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. In this concise text, Alan L. Berger portrays Wiesel's transformation from a pre-Holocaust, deeply God-fearing youth to a survivor of the Shoah who was left with questions for both God and man. An advisor to American presidents of both political parties, his nearly 60 books voiced an activism on behalf of oppressed people everywhere. The book illuminates Wiesel's contributions in the areas of religion, human rights, literature, and Jewish thought to show the impact that he has had on American life. Supported by primary documents about and from Wiesel, the volume gives students a gateway to explore Wiesel's incredible life. This book will make a great addition to courses on American religious or intellectual thought.

This volume sheds light on the transformed post-Holocaust relationship between Catholics and Jews. Once implacable theological foes, the two traditions have travelled a great distance in coming to view the other with respect and dignity. Responding to the horrors of Auschwitz, the Catholic Church has undergone a "reckoning of the soul," beginning with its landmark document Nostra Aetate and embraced a positive theology of Judaism including the ongoing validity of the Jewish covenant. Jews have responded to this unprecedented outreach, especially in the document Dabru Emet. Together, these two Abrahamic traditions have begun seeking a repair of the world. The road has been rocky and certainly obstacles remain. Nevertheless, authentic interfaith dialogue remains a new and promising development in the search for a peace.

This volume sheds light on the transformed post-Holocaust relationship between Catholics and Jews. Once implacable theological foes, the two traditions have travelled a great distance in coming to view the other with respect and dignity. Responding to the horrors of Auschwitz, the Catholic Church has undergone a "reckoning of the soul," beginning with its landmark document Nostra Aetate and embraced a positive theology of Judaism including the ongoing validity of the Jewish covenant. Jews have responded to this unprecedented outreach, especially in the document Dabru Emet. Together, these two Abrahamic traditions have begun seeking a repair of the world. The road has been rocky and certainly obstacles remain. Nevertheless, authentic interfaith dialogue remains a new and promising development in the search for a peace.

The Continuing Agony addresses the crucial and painful issues that continue to plague Christian-Jewish relations after Auschwitz. Despite these obstacles, the essays in this book profess hope for the future of a Jewish-Catholic dialogue.

A companion volume to Methodology in the Academic Teaching of Judaism (UPA, 1987), this book seeks to address the central issues of human life and meaning in the post-Holocaust world. Though representing a variety of disciplines and religious backgrounds, the authors are united by a fundamental recognition that after the Holocaust, the entire enterprise of being human has been called into serious question. Co-published with Studies in Judaism.

Synopsis: This volume addresses the promise and peril of post-9/11 interfaith trialogue. In fifteen clearly written and insightful essays, distinguished scholars of different faiths and divergent world views guide readers toward an informed understanding of the role of religion and the basic teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the United States. Acknowledging commonalities, these essays also shed light on the essential differences among the teachings of the Abrahamic traditions and raise pivotal questions regarding humanity's future: What prompted the carnage? What has changed since then? What remains to be achieved? Dispelling ignorance about the religious other is a necessary but only a first step toward achieving a durable and effective trialogue. In an increasingly perilous and interconnected world where the effects of globalization are yet to be fully recognized, interfaith trialogue holds out the hope of genuine movement toward a more peaceful coexistence. Endorsements: "Alan Berger's astute editorial direction brings together a seasoned group of scholars from the Abrahamic traditions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--to provide a stellar example of interreligious cooperation that is so needed in today's world. Timely, incisive, challenging--these words summarize and highlight the importance of Trialogue and Terror." --John K. Roth, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College "As a prominent scholar of interfaith relations, Alan Berger provides us with essential reflections on the connection between religion, violence, and terror. No topic on religion is more urgent for us today. The book has a stellar line-up of thinkers whose . . . contributions give us a robust picture of how religions can better understand each other to foster coexistence and build a more hopeful future for the entire human family." --Rabbi Eugene Korn, Codirector, Institute for Theological Inquiry "The essays collected here focus on very different kinds of issues, sometimes going deep into theological problems, such as Catholic understanding of Judaism's ongoing validity, and other times attending to chronic political challenges, such as how the State of Israel complicates Muslim-Jewish relations. The book is an important contribution to a vitally significant conversation in our time." --David P. Gushee, Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics, Mercer University "Kudos to the contributors of Trialogue and Terror for an unflinchingly sober and honest analysis of the necessity and possibility of trilateral engagement among the Abrahamic faiths. Courageously self-critical, the authors mine the resources of their traditions to provide hope and constructive pathways for the extensive interreligious dialogues so sorely needed in the post-9/11 world." --Elena Procario-Foley, Professor of Jewish-Catholic Studies, Iona College Author Biography: Alan L. Berger is the Raddock Family Eminent Scholar Chair of Holocaust Studies at Florida Atlantic University. Among the books he has written, coauthored, and edited are Children of Job, Second Generation Voices, and Jewish-Christian Dialogue.

Henry Herzog survived the liquidation of the Rzeszow ghetto in Poland and endured terrible hardships in forced labor camps. He documents the increasing severity of Nazi rule in Rzeszow and the complicity of the Jewish council (the Judenrat) and Jewish police in the round-ups for deportation to the Belzec concentration camp. One of these deportations took his parents to their deaths. His brothers were caught, tortured, and killed by the Gestapo. Herzog and his sister escaped to Hungary where--although she found refuge--he was betrayed, arrested, and finally put on a train to the concentration camps. Escaping by jumping off the train and fleeing into the Tatra Mountains, he joined a group of Russian partisans to fight the Nazis.
1995 paperback, Saga Publishers / Folio Private

Challenging the notion that Jewish American and Holocaust literature have exhausted their limits, this volume reexamines these closely linked traditions in light of recent postmodern theory. Composed against the tumultuous background of great cultural transition and unprecedented state-sponsored systematic murder, Jewish American and Holocaust literature both address the concerns of postmodern human existence in extremis. In addition to exploring how various mythic and literary themes are deconstructed in the lurid light of Auschwitz, this book provides critical reassessments of Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and Philip Roth, as well as contemporary Jewish American writers who are extending this vibrant tradition into the new millennium. These essays deepen and enrich our understanding of the Jewish literary tradition and the implications of the Shoah.