Overview

At the end of World War II, French Jews faced a devastating demographic reality: thousands of orphaned children, large numbers of single-parent households, and families in emotional and financial distress. Daniella Doron suggests that after years of occupation and collaboration, French Jews and non-Jews held contrary opinions about the future of the nation and the institution of the family. At the center of the disagreement was what was to become of the children. Doron traces emerging notions about the postwar family and its role in strengthening Jewish ethnicity and French republicanism in the shadow of Vichy and the Holocaust.

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9780253017413

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Reviews

The present volume makes an important contribution to the history of the Jewish family and of French Judaism in the first decade after the war. * American Historical Review * Doron's book appears at a key moment. Its emphasis on children emerging from hunger, displacement and war should render it standard reading for policymakers, NGOs and others interested in shaping the destinies of today's abandoned children. * French History * Ultimately, this comprehensive study highlights the debates surrounding family and identity as French Jewish communities slowly recovered and reestablished their place in the French nation. Historically grounded, well organized, and engaging. . . . Highly recommended. * Choice * The value of Daniella Doron's deft and far-reaching study of the debates and institutions centered on Jewish children in post-Vichy France extends far beyond the author's rather modest assessment of the book's contribution to historical scholarship. This work not only adds knowledge to a number of intersecting fields, it also demonstrates what we stand to gain by bringing these fields to bear on one another. * Journal of Modern History * This work ultimately fills an important gap in the scholarship, and it will serve as a bridge between the numerous studies on the Holocaust and those that examine the impact of the North African Jewish migration. * H-France * Daniella Doron's recent book is a welcome contribution to French history and the history of childhood and will interest advanced students and scholars in these areas. * AJS Review *

Jewish Youth and Identity in Postwar France tells the story of the Holocaust and its aftermath from a strikingly original vantage point: through the lens of the children who survived. In reconstructing how French Jews mobilized around children and families after the Second World War, Daniella Doron demonstrates the centrality of children to the broader project of reconstruction and remembrance in the aftermath of genocide. This gripping and powerful history should be read by anyone interested in the history of the Holocaust, the family, and Jews in Modern France. Tara Zahra, University of Chicago

Doron's deftly argued and well researched book is an important intervention into a growing body of scholarship on the postwar decade.She convincingly documents the central role that the rehabilitation of Jewish children and the reconstruction of Jewish families played in post-war French Jewish reconstruction and underscores the importance of the decade following the war in shaping Jewish historical evolution in France. Maud Mandel, author of Muslims and Jews in France: History of a Conflict

Doron's deftly argued and well researched book is an important intervention into a growing body of scholarship on the postwar decade.She convincingly documents the central role that the rehabilitation of Jewish children and the reconstruction of Jewish families played in post-war French Jewish reconstruction and underscores the importance of the decade following the war in shaping Jewish historical evolution in France. -Maud Mandel, author of Muslims and Jews in France: History of a Conflict Jewish Youth and Identity in Postwar France tells the story of the Holocaust and its aftermath from a strikingly original vantage point: through the lens of the children who survived. In reconstructing how French Jews mobilized around children and families after the Second World War, Daniella Doron demonstrates the centrality of children to the broader project of reconstruction and remembrance in the aftermath of genocide. This gripping and powerful history should be read by anyone interested in the history of the Holocaust, the family, and Jews in Modern France. -Tara Zahra, University of Chicago Ultimately, this comprehensive study highlights the debates surrounding family and identity as French Jewish communities slowly recovered and reestablished their place in the French nation. Historically grounded, well organized, and engaging... Highly recommended. -Choice Doron's book appears at a key moment. Its emphasis on children emerging from hunger, displacement and war should render it standard reading for policymakers, NGOs and others interested in shaping the destinies of today's abandoned children. -French History

Daniella Doron's focus on children allows her to see things that prior scholars have missed, particularly the 'Frenchness' of the story as well as the concerted effort of French Jewish leaders to influence their own destiny in the period after WWII. Deftly argued and an engaging read. Maud Mandel, Brown University

Doron's book appears at a key moment. Its emphasis on children emerging from hunger, displacement and war should render it standard reading for policymakers, NGOs and others interested in shaping the destinies of today's abandoned children. -French History This work ultimately fills an important gap in the scholarship, and it will serve as a bridge between thenumerous studies on the Holocaust and those that examine the impact of the North African Jewishmigration. -H-France Doron's deftly argued and well researched book is an important intervention into a growing body of scholarship on the postwar decade.She convincingly documents the central role that the rehabilitation of Jewish children and the reconstruction of Jewish families played in post-war French Jewish reconstruction and underscores the importance of the decade following the war in shaping Jewish historical evolution in France. -Maud Mandel, author of Muslims and Jews in France: History of a Conflict Jewish Youth and Identity in Postwar France tells the story of the Holocaust and its aftermath from a strikingly original vantage point: through the lens of the children who survived. In reconstructing how French Jews mobilized around children and families after the Second World War, Daniella Doron demonstrates the centrality of children to the broader project of reconstruction and remembrance in the aftermath of genocide. This gripping and powerful history should be read by anyone interested in the history of the Holocaust, the family, and Jews in Modern France. -Tara Zahra, University of Chicago Ultimately, this comprehensive study highlights the debates surrounding family and identity as French Jewish communities slowly recovered and reestablished their place in the French nation. Historically grounded, well organized, and engaging.... Highly recommended. -Choice

Author Information

Daniella Doron is Lecturer in Jewish history at Monash University where she teaches courses on modern Jewish history, the Holocaust, and the history of the family.

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