Experiences of Jews Who Converted to Christianity before and during the Holocaust. An Overview of Testimonies in the Fortunoff Video Archive
Experiences of Jews Who Converted to Christianity before and during the Holocaust. An Overview of Testimonies in the Fortunoff Video Archive
Author(s): Ion PopaSubject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Comparative Studies of Religion, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), History of the Holocaust, History of Antisemitism, Sociology of Religion, Politics and Identity, Identity of Collectives, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Wiener Wiesenthal Institut für Holocaust-Studien
Keywords: Conversion to Christianity; Jewish-Christian relations; Jewish identity/belonging; Church attitudes towards Jews;
Summary/Abstract: Research on Jews who converted to Christianity before and during the Holocaust has been scarce until recently, although since the 1980s survivors’ testimonies began to mention such experiences more often. This article offers a first general overview of 97 testimonies found in the Fortunoff Video Archive of Holocaust Testimonies that describe the experience of conversion of Holocaust survivors. Based on the information provided by these testimonies it 1) analyses the attitudes of Christian and Jewish institutions and individuals towards converts and 2) explores the way in which the experience of conversion impacted the sense of belonging and Jewish identity of the survivors.
Journal: S:I.M.O.N. Shoah: Intervention. Methods. Documentation.
- Issue Year: 7/2020
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 75-86
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English
