Living in Two Worlds: Diaries of a Jewish Couple in Germany and in Exile

Description

This unique collection of diaries and letters offers a vivid personal account of the experiences of a Jewish couple living parallel lives during the Second World War. While their children left for England just before war broke out, and Siegfried soon followed, Else Behrend was unable to obtain her visa in time, and remained in Germany. This volume includes Else's account of her years of persecution under the Nazi dictatorship, and of her life underground in Berlin, before her eventual daring escape to Switzerland on foot in 1944. Her dramatic story is presented alongside Siegfried's account of his very different experience, living penniless and in isolation in England, as well as some of her letters to her close friend and confidante, Eva. Complemented by QR codes that allow readers to listen to Else's own voice from her 1963 BBC interviews. Published in English for the first time, Living in Two Worlds offers an unforgettable and moving insight into the impact of the Second World War on everyday life.

'A poignant, gripping, and richly illustrated account of how a Jewish couple, separated by circumstances, survived the war and the Holocaust. Else Behrend-Rosenfeld documents the incarceration and deportation of Munich's Jews and then her own escape into the underground which finally ended with a difficult fall into Switzerland in 1944.' Peter Fritzsche, University of Illinois 'The horrors of persecution and exile common to so many German Jews and opponents of the Hitler regime is brought home in searing detail in the interwoven diaries and letters of the Rosenfelds. They capture the struggle to find ways to survive in a world increasingly abnormal and threatening, an experience from the Third Reich that encapsulates the suffering of all those whose lives were destroyed by politics in the age of European dictatorship.' Richard Overy, University of Exeter 'Else Behrend-Rosenfeld's perceptive and lucidly written diary provides a unique perspective into the persecution of the Jewish community of Munich and her own life in hiding in Nazi Germany. The diary and accompanying documents have been superbly edited and contextualized by Marita Krauss and Erich Kasberger.' Susanna Schrafstetter, University of Vermont 'This significant book interweaves translated extracts from the letters the couple wrote and the diaries they kept during the war years of separation. It highlights the contrasting way those sombre years affected the couple.' Martin Mauthner, Journal of the Association of Jewish Refugees