To Wear the Dust of War: From Bialystok to Shanghai to the Promised Land, an Oral History (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)

To Wear the Dust of War: From Bialystok to Shanghai to the Promised Land, an Oral History (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)
Samuel Iwry | 2004-08-21 00:00:00 | Palgrave Macmillan | 256 | Jewish
On the eve of World War I, ten-year-old Samuel Iwry and his family joined other Jewish refugees in fleeing Poland for Russia. At age twenty-nine, Iwry was forced to flee again--this time from the Soviets--and ended up in Shanghai, joining 20,000 Jewish refugees already there. The story of the diaspora caused by the Holocaust is well-known, but the Far Eastern dimension has come to light only very recently. Iwry's story unfolds in his own compelling words, conveying the harrowing details of flight and survival into vivid detail. Leslie Kelly suceeds in placing Iwry's experiences into much wider historical context. This oral history sheds light on Jewish life in eastern Europe during the inter-war period, the search for a safe haven from Nazis and Soviets, daily life in the Shanghai ghetto, and emigration to America. Iwry's story is representative of the Jewish experience but also completely unique.

Reviews
The book reads like your grandpa talking directly to you, so it is realling interesting although it rambles a bit. But this man had an incredible life and it is a fascinating window on the plight of Jews who escaped the holocaust through Shanghai. DEspite all he and his family went through, he can still spike the story with humor. It's hard to put it down and it really makes you think. Highly recommended!
Reviews
Samuel Iwry, a Jewish scholar, gives a remarkable first person account of his experiences fleeing Poland, going across Russia to Japan, then to Shanghai, and ultimately to America, in flight from the Nazis, beginning in 1939. Examples are use of forged documents, crossing a border surreptitiously, waiting in Vilnius for opportunity, detention in Shanghai (with 20,000 other Jewish refugees), and travel to the U.S. (where he settled in Baltimore and became a professor at Johns Hopkins). Highly readable and suitable for adults and young adults.

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