When Sherlock Holmes met the Maharal of Prague: How did a well-known rabbi in the early 20th century “convert” an Arthur Conan Doyle detective story and present it as an ancient manuscript discovered in an imaginary library?
The Living Encyclopedia of Lost Jewish Communities
Moshe Tzinovitz filled page after page with the stories of rabbis and communities that no longer exist. Now, as his scattered archive is finally being organized, a portrait emerges of the man who devoted his life to preserving the memories of others, while leaving little order in his own papers.
The Jewish Chemist Who Dissolved Nobel Prizes to Hide Them From the Nazis
George Charles de Hevesy, a scientist of Jewish origin, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry at the height of World War II while living in hiding as a refugee. But even before that, he had carried out a daring and ingenious operation — using his scientific expertise to conceal Nobel Prize medals from the Nazis. What does all this have to do with a mischievous landlady who served him recycled leftovers? This is the story of a brilliant and resourceful scientist.
“Literature is stronger than death”: How a Poem by Avrom Sutzkever Saved His Own Life
In 1943, while hiding from the Nazis in a Lithuanian forest, Sutzkever managed to smuggle a booklet containing his poem “Kol Nidre” to Moscow. The poem was so powerful it convinced the Soviet authorities to send a plane and execute a daring rescue mission that brought Sutzkever and his wife to safety. Today that booklet is preserved at the National Library of Israel.
Raoul Wallenberg: The Mysterious Disappearance of a Hero
The fate of the Holocaust-era rescuer of Jews remains unknown, but his example continues to resonate.
The British-Jewish Officer Who Fooled Hitler
How did a corpse save thousands of Allied soldiers in World War II and help change the course of the war? Who was this person? Why was it said that “the only worthwhile thing that he ever did, he did after his death”? And what does any of this have to do with James Bond? This is the astonishing true story behind “Operation Mincemeat”, a tale that sounds like the plot of a first-rate spy novel but actually took place in reality.
From Treblinka to Stalingrad: The Many Truths of Vasily Grossman
How a Soviet-Jewish reporter became one of the 20th century’s most essential truth-tellers.
Revealed: Albert Einstein’s Forgotten Assistants
Recently uncovered letters in the Gnazim Archive reveal the extraordinary life stories of two Eastern European Jewish scientists who worked alongside Einstein and helped develop the theory of relativity. This is the story of brilliant minds largely erased from historical memory, and of an archival discovery that brings them back into the light.
Hauser’s List: The Man Who Saved Hundreds of Jewish Musicians from Europe
The story you are about to read has remained hidden for 85 years. It is a story of music, beauty, and compassion – through which hundreds of lives were saved from the clutches of the Nazis, right under the watchful eye of the British Mandate authorities. This is the story of Emil Hauser, a gifted musician and a national hero.
The Struggle Over a Baby Baptized by Force
A recently discovered letter sheds light on a tragic historical phenomenon: the secret, forced baptism of Jewish children by Christian servants.
