ANAT HELMAN is a senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her most recent book is A Coat of Many Colors: Dress Culture in the Young State of Israel.
"After a pre-eminent Holocaust scholar questioned whether sexual
violence had really occurred during WWII, scholars Sonja Hedgepeth
and Rochelle Saidel got working on the recently published Sexual
Violence Against Jewish Women During The Holocaust, the first book
on the topic in English, which comprises 16 essays examining the
rape, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, forced abortion and
sterilization that took place during the war. While the Holocaust
has been examined from myriad perspectives in both academia and
popular culture, sexual violence, which was largely directed
against women, has received little attention. Hedgepeth and Saidel,
along with a small group of academics and writers, are fighting to
change that."--Haaretz.com--Haaretz.com
"The rape and sexual abuse of Jewish women during the Holocaust
have been long overlooked. But when researchers probed, stories
began to emerge as if they were old photographic film waiting for
the right chemicals."--Haaretz and Jewish Journal
"The subject of sexual brutality against women in the Holocaust has
been pretty much neglected; this book is a vital addition to
women's history, Jewish history and the history of the
world."--Na'amat Woman
"These essays, describing experiences of forced sex, 'sex for
survival, ' prostitution, sterilization, abortion, and general
sexual humiliation, add greatly to what is known about the lives of
Jewish women during WWII. Much of the content here is a
philosophical extension of first-person accounts of sexual torture.
. . . These essays illustrate how this subject is discussed, or
not, across the globe. The fact that this exhaustive volume
represents the first set of essays on the subject written in
English underpins a fundamental truth held by the editors: while
English-speaking countries are comfortable discussing these
horrors, the fates specific to the murdered women and survivors of
sexual assault are considered by many to be too shameful for
discourse."--Publishers Weekly
After a pre-eminent Holocaust scholar questioned whether sexual
violence had really occurred during WWII, scholars Sonja Hedgepeth
and Rochelle Saidel got working on the recently published Sexual
Violence Against Jewish Women During The Holocaust, the first book
on the topic in English, which comprises 16 essays examining the
rape, forced prostitution, sexual slavery, forced abortion and
sterilization that took place during the war. While the Holocaust
has been examined from myriad perspectives in both academia and
popular culture, sexual violence, which was largely directed
against women, has received little attention. Hedgepeth and Saidel,
along with a small group of academics and writers, are fighting to
change that. Haaretz.com Haaretz.com"
Saidel and Hedgepeth demonstrate that there is ample documentation
of the most vicious sexual abuse in the heart of civilized Europe
during the Holocaust. In their excellent collection, they go far in
shining a spotlight on this fraught topic. Women s Review of
Books"
Saidel and Hedgepeth knew rape was not documented in the same way
as the number of trains that traveled to a concentration camp, but
they sought out scholars from seven countries and collected 16
essays, drawing upon oral histories, literature, psychoanalysis,
eyewitness reports and diaries. The stories of rape and sexual
abuse began to emerge as if they were old photographic film waiting
for the right chemicals, and long-erased pictures of Jewish women
who had suffered sexual abuse began to emerge. Cindy Cooper, Women
s E-News"
The rape and sexual abuse of Jewish women during the Holocaust have
been long overlooked. But when researchers probed, stories began to
emerge as if they were old photographic film waiting for the right
chemicals. Haaretz and Jewish Journal"
These essays, describing experiences of forced sex, sex for
survival, prostitution, sterilization, abortion, and general sexual
humiliation, add greatly to what is known about the lives of Jewish
women during WWII. Much of the content here is a philosophical
extension of first-person accounts of sexual torture. . . . These
essays illustrate how this subject is discussed, or not, across the
globe. The fact that this exhaustive volume represents the first
set of essays on the subject written in English underpins a
fundamental truth held by the editors: while English-speaking
countries are comfortable discussing these horrors, the fates
specific to the murdered women and survivors of sexual assault are
considered by many to be too shameful for discourse. Publishers
Weekly"
This revelatory anthology would be crucial as long-overdue truth
even if it were unique, but the suppression of its truth probably
left us even less prepared for sexual abuse in Bosnia, Rwanda, the
Congo and more. Rochelle and Sonja have given us the greatest gift:
a truth of history that can keep us from repeating its suffering.
Gloria Steinem, reported in The Forward"
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
