It’s amazing that you
were able to find so much information on “ordinary
people.” It’s such an important gap
to fill, and so crucial to a sense of our own
history. You did a wonderful job of showing the
breadth and limitations of Holocaust studies
as well as German studies. The move away from
monolithic culture is so important politically.
It strikes another blow against fascist worldviews.
Which is of course a great use of history.
I’m tremendously impressed
by your research, and by your ability to pull
together so much material. It’s fascinating
to see the ways that manual labor became validated
within the Jewish community before the war, a
subject you deal with beautifully, relating it
so importantly to ideas of caste. Of course,
the Nazis worked very hard to obscure any idea
that Jews were not rich or male. Your own interviews
show great sensitivity on your part, and I’m
certain that the women you interviewed were grateful
to talk to you.
Your
use of the Emma document is just terrific.
I’m so glad you found
it. You make as much of it as could possibly
be made. I’m sure it wasn't easy to persuade
your advisers that oral histories and personal
testimony could make for great analysis, but
you’ve clearly proved that. And by using
quotes from the interviews to introduce the topics,
you’ve done honor to the individuals as
well.
As
you show so powerfully in your last chapter,
this particular group that you've interviewed
has really been left out of history and German
Studies, with all their focus on high culture.
You also make a very good point, that these
people were often too poor to emigrate, so
we don’t know about them in this country.
And you end wonderfully with the quote from Rose
Lerman, “My life is a part of history.”
This is a marvelous thesis,
and really deserves to be a book.