As Holocaust survivors settled in the United States following World War II, American media reported that Jewish refugees found lives filled with opportunity and happiness in America. For most, however, it was a much more complicated story. The gap between public perception and the reality for survivors is the subject of Beth Cohen’s new book, “Case Closed: Holocaust Survivors in Postwar America.”

In “Case Closed: Holocaust Survivors in Postwar America,” Cohen provides a view through the eyes of those who lived it, challenging the conventional narrative of postwar easy acculturation and illuminating the complexity of the newcomers’ lives as “New Americans.”

Cohen received her Ph.D. in Holocaust history from Clark in 2003, in the first graduating class from this landmark program. After graduation, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies awarded her a “Life Reborn” Fellowship.

This free, public event was supported by the Asher Family Foundation and Clark's Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Beth Cohen
“Case Closed: Holocaust Survivors in Postwar America”
April 18, 2007
Tilton Hall, Higgins University Center, Clark University
RT: 59 minutes
MPEG-4 Low bandwith and High bandwidth
Sponsored by: Strassler Family Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Press Release