Against All Odds: Holocaust Surviviors and the Successful Lives they Made in America (Library of Conservative Thought) [Paperback]

William B. Helmreich (Author, Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560008652 | ISBN-13: 978-1560008651 | Publication Date: January 1, 1995 | Edition: 2nd

Against All Odds is the first comprehensive look at the 140,000 Jewish Holocaust survivors who came to America and the lives they have made. William Helmreich writes of their experiences, beginning with their first arrival in the United States: the mixed reactions they encountered from American Jews who were not always eager to receive them; their choices about where to live in America; and their efforts in finding marriage partners with whom they felt most comfortable—often other survivors.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The special refugee community of 140,000 Holocaust survivors who by 1953 had immigrated to the U.S. is the subject of this admirably comprehensive study by Helmreich, chairman of the sociology department of City College of New York and a child of survivors who himself shares their acute concern that the Holocaust not be forgotten. The author reviews the national origins of survivors, and where and under what conditions they settled, worked and adapted to their new homes. While he notes that some never recovered from their ordeals, the moving, psychologically revealing first-person accounts Helmreich cites contribute to this impressive analysis of the surprising number who did. In addition to good health, luck and help from relatives or agencies, he identifies traits which they shared to a varying extent--flexibility, assertiveness, tenacity, intelligence, optimism and a pride that spurred them to engage in purposeful lives.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In this well-researched work, Helmreich ( The World of the Yeshiva , LJ 9/15/82) presents the first comprehensive study of Holocaust survivors who emigrated to the United States after World War II. Through interviews and surveys, he details their shared experiences, emotions, and perceptions. While discovering common traits, he emphasizes the individuality of the survivors rather than stereotyping them. The result is fascinating. The reader learns about the survivors' struggle to leave European Displaced Persons camps to come to the United States, their difficulties in being accepted by American Jews as well as gentiles, the almost obsessive role work plays in their lives, their need to be connected to other survivors, and the ways they cope with memories of the horrors they experienced. This book would be an excellent addition to any public or academic library and a necessary one for those building Judaica or immigrant studies collections.
-Rose Cichy, Osterhout Free Lib., Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers; 2nd edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560008652
• ISBN-13: 978-1560008651
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,357,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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