Between the months of June and December 1941, the population of Lithuania’s Jewry dropped by an estimated eighty percent, a striking plunge fundamentally due to mass murder perpetrated by Nazis and their local collaborators. This dramatic loss of life underscores the actions of those who are responsible for the deaths of thousands despite having never brandished a weapon. This is particularly true for Stasys Žakevičius, the Vilniaus miesto komiteto pirmininkas (Vilnius City and Region Citizens’ Committee Chairman). Research shows that, in this capacity, he called for violence against the Jews and issued a variety of anti-Jewish decrees that contributed to the persecution of local Jewry in 1941. Despite such morally questionable activity, he remained acquaintances (if not friends) with John F. Mazionis, who, as a British-Lithuanian, had been working for the US Department of State at the American Legation in Lithuania since the mid-1920s. This thesis analyzes the two men and their ties, thereby illuminating the under-researched areas of the Lithuanian-American bond during and after the Holocaust. Findings indicate that their ties lasted through the Cold War, when Žakevičius and Mazionis worked for the CIA and US Department of State to thwart the Soviet authority in Lithuania. The research presents how Žakevičius was never punished for his part in the persecution of Vilna Jewry; rather, on the contrary, he was rewarded for his postwar efforts regarding threat intelligence and anti-Soviet subversive organizations. In fact, by 1966, he and his wife were naturalized American citizens, living in the United States, due in part to a 1955 recommendation written by Mazionis on their behalf. The aim of this thesis, then, is to offer the most comprehensive presentation of John F. Mazionis and Stasys Žakevičius and, by extension, the problematic nuances of American foreign relations. The conclusion of such research affirms broader polemics: The US as a refuge for Nazi collaborators, protecting them from proper adjudication for their Holocaust-related crimes in exchange for their postwar anti-Communist intelligence.

Supervisors:
Dr. David Silberklang
Prof. Hagit Lavsky

This study investigates the role played by the Yugoslav state and its media in the Eichmann trial, an aspect that has not been dealt with before. Yugoslavia had a unique position in the Communist world, being at the crossroads between East and West. It was the only country in the Communist circle that had diplomatic ties with Israel and cooperated with the Jerusalem Court.

By unfolding the role of one unique state – Yugoslavia – the study adds a new dimension to the Eichmann trial. Consequently, in the realm of virtually uninvestigated field of research of the roles played by different European countries in shaping the trial, the study fills the gap in the historical narrative of the trial.

Based heavily on uninvestigated archival records and newspaper articles mainly from Serbia, the study explores in detail the Yugoslav-Israeli cooperation in the process of the trial preparation and the specific requirement of the Yugoslav government to include the crimes of Andrija Artuković in the trial. It then examines the “result” of this cooperation. Fully focused on the German occupation zone – much of the modern-day Serbia – and on the Independent State of Croatia, the study investigates the case of Yugoslavia in the Jerusalem courtroom and concurrently addresses the narrative of the Holocaust in the above-mentioned parts of Yugoslavia as it emerged during the trial. The research further explores the attitude of the Yugoslav establishment towards the Eichmann’s affair, and the trial in Israel through the Yugoslav state-controlled media coverage.

Yugoslav authorities, unlike many other countries in the Communist bloc provided an active and eager assistance in the process of material collection, which resulted in one-third of the evidence being used in the trial. Simultaneously, Yugoslavia aimed to “secure” new evidence for Andrija Artuković’s extradition from US and required his incorporation in the trial. Analysis of the results of Yugoslav-Israeli cooperation indicates that the focus given to Artuković and Eichmann in the courtroom blurred the Croatia’s collaboration with the Nazis, as well as the other historical facts significant for comprehensive understanding of the Holocaust in Yugoslavia. Finally, the Yugoslav government sent five observers and five journalists to follow the trial and report on it. Full public support of Eichmann’s abduction and the trial in Israel was expressed in an exhaustive Yugoslav media coverage of the trial, highlighting the Jewish victims from the very beginning of the reporting. Thus, the study clearly proves that the Yugoslav state and media were actively involved in the Eichmann trial, and that the trial itself was of great significance to the Yugoslav state.

Further research of Yugoslav media in the period of the Eichmann trial is needed for the complete comprehension of the specific Yugoslav position towards the Holocaust within the context of the Communist world in the period of the Eichmann trial. Also, the investigation of the impact the media coverage and the post-trial writings of Yugoslav reporters had on the whole Yugoslav Holocaust narrative needs to be explored.

Supervisor:
Prof. Hanna Yablonka

The aim of this descriptive study was to introduce a new research methodology, that could be integrated into the existing historiography of medical refugees in Britain from 1933-1948. The research, qualitative and comparative in nature used a phenomenological method to explore in more depth the lives, careers, and migration paths of German-speaking pediatricians into Britain, in order to provide insight into the complexities of their lived experiences.

The use of a group biography approach illustrates the variety of the nature of human reaction and inter-reaction, and the development of professional identity in the face of severe life challenges. The group consisted of a homogenous, purposeful sample of twenty-four Jewish German-speaking pediatricians, qualified and working in the field of pediatrics before 1933, who left Nazi Europe between 1933-1941, and arrived in Britain, defined as medical refugees.

The data was obtained from both primary and secondary sources, including letters, documents, questionnaires, newspapers, journals, and books. Using Colaizzi’s method of data analysis, seventeen theme clusters emerged from the findings, which fell into five main chronological categories, reflecting the transnational and biographical nature of the data covering a period of several years. These were: “Pre-Nazi Rule; Persecution; A New Start; The War Years; and Post-War: Life in Britain”. The theme clusters encapsulated the variety of life experiences from achievement, status, and pioneering work to expulsion, loss, violence, flight, and non-recognition, and finally to renewed recognition and new opportunities in war service and medical work.

The study concluded that there were many varied experiences, both positive and negative, particularly in the years before and during the war; that gender and age did not necessarily adversely affect the opportunities that came during the war and afterwards, except in a few cases only. Finally, twelve of the group of twenty-four, did continue in various aspects of child healthcare in the new National Health Service following the war. Limitations of the study, and recommendations for further research were also discussed.

Supervisor:
Prof. Paul Weindling

This study will present the history of the deaf-Jewish communities in Germany and Poland before, during, and after World War II. The study reviews the scientific and cultural background of the general deaf population from the end of the 18th century until World War II. Through implementation of Eugenics, the Nazis marked part of the deaf population as “undesirable”, and some 17,000 deaf German citizens underwent forced sterilization as part of the Nazi racial laws. The Jewish Deaf in Germany and Poland were two of the most influential communities of Jewish Deaf before the outbreak of World War II. In Berlin, a boarding school was established, which was considered the premier institution for the education of deaf Jews and drew students from all over Germany, Europe, and even from the Land of Israel. The Jewish Deaf Community in Poland was arranged by local organizations and an umbrella organization of all deaf Jews in Poland. These organizations maintained an archive that for the first time was researched for this study.

At the outbreak of the war there were about 600 deaf Jews in Germany and about 4,000 deaf Jews in Poland. Most of them perished in the Holocaust. Testimonies of survivors demonstrate special characteristics in a variety of areas: their early childhood, immigration, deafness as a factor that impairs the chances of survival, deafness as a cause of uncertainty and disconnection from the environment, deaf brotherhood, and others. After the war, deaf survivors had to deal with the consequences of the war, immigration, the establishment of their families, and the trauma of the war as reflected in the second generation.

The importance of the research is the systematic presentation of the deaf in the Holocaust, starting with eugenics and non-Jewish deaf people, through the deaf communities on the eve of the war, and finally, the Jewish deaf in the Holocaust. This study is one of the first to examine this population that has not yet been extensively researched. This study will be used to build educational programs for both the deaf population and the hearing. In addition, this study can serve as a model for future Holocaust studies on sub-populations, especially populations of Jews with disabilities.

Supervisor:
Dr. Miriam Ofer