"For all of us who are children of the age of Jewish displacement, migration and landing in new settings, this trove of over 200 letters is an invaluable document of social history. Fighting loneliness and despondency, an intelligent and sensitive young Jew is at the center of a fascinating correspondence primarily with his sister whose reflections and insightful, encouraging responses turn these letters into an 'epistolary novel.' Viewed through the lens of the Holocaust 20 years later, the central characters win our admiration for their rootedness in tradition and their resourcefulness. They are true Jewish survivors of painful relocation and pioneers in building a new life." Max Ticktin Professor of Jewish Studies George Washington University