Podcast
New Books in Jewish Studies
Part of the New Books Network
Saving our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust
Listen to Rachel’s conversation with Ran Zwigenberg (Penn State)
Bringing postwar communal narratives into the longer history of Holocaust memory in America challenges our understanding of what Holocaust narratives look and sound like and invites us to consider the relationship between humanitarian aid and the narratives they employ to inspire action. By expanding our understanding of how stories about the Holocaust became part of an American discourse and considering multiple forms of Holocaust survivor accounts, Saving Our Survivors highlights the messy, diffuse, and contested nature of memory construction in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, as well as each new tragedy we confront.
Book Talk
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Virtual
Saving our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust
In recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month, Dr. Rachel Deblinger will deliver a lecture on her newly published book, Saving Our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust. Drawing on previously unexamined archives and postwar cultural materials —including collections from the JDC Archives— Saving Our Survivors explores how American Jews constructed meaning out of devastation—and how humanitarian aid became intertwined with public memory. The book explores how American Jewish communities first came to learn about and respond to the Holocaust through communal campaigns, radio broadcasts, speeches, short films, and urgent calls to action. Rachel Deblinger highlights the messy, diffuse, and contested nature of memory construction in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and raises larger questions about how historical tragedies are narrated in moments of crisis.
Book Talk
Pantirer Memorial Scholars Lecture
Kean University
Saving our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust
Join us on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. This year’s keynote is Dr. Rachel Deblinger, author of Saving Our Survivors: How American Jews Learned About the Holocaust. Books will be available for purchase at the event.
Book Talk
The 1939 Society Program in Holocaust Studies
314 Royce Hall | UCLA
Saving our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust
Drawing on previously unexamined archives and postwar cultural materials, Saving Our Survivors explores how American Jews constructed meaning out of devastation—and how humanitarian aid became intertwined with public memory. The book uncovers how American Jewish communities first came to learn about and respond to the Holocaust through communal campaigns, radio broadcasts, speeches, short films, and urgent calls to action. Rachel Deblinger highlights the messy, diffuse, and contested nature of memory construction in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust and raises larger questions about how historical tragedies are narrated in moments of crisis.
Book Talk
Colgate University, Department of History
Saving our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust
Book Talk
Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History Program
Saving Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust
Rachel Deblinger, Director of the Modern Endangered Archives Program at UCLA, discusses her recent book, Saving Our Survivors: How American Jews Learned about the Holocaust. This Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History program is co-sponsored by the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and the Center for the Study of Antisemitism. Light refreshments will be provided.
Past Events
July 27, 2025 | 2:30 CDT
Book & Author Series
at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Wayfarer Theater, 1850 2nd St, Highland Park, IL 60035
Saving Our Survivors: Holocaust Memory, Aid, and American Jewish Response
Join us for a timely and thought-provoking conversation with Holocaust historian and former Illinois Holocaust Museum staff member Dr. Rachel Deblinger as she discusses her new book, Saving Our Survivors: How American Jews Learned About the Holocaust.
Drawing on previously unexamined archives and postwar cultural materials, Saving Our Survivors invites readers to explore how American Jews constructed meaning out of devastation—and how humanitarian aid became intertwined with public memory. The book also raises larger questions about how historical tragedies are narrated in moments of crisis, and how stories influence the will to act.
Dr. Deblinger’s groundbreaking work uncovers how American Jewish communities first came to learn about and respond to the Holocaust through communal campaigns, radio broadcasts, speeches, short films, and urgent calls to action.