Battling for Souls: The Vaad Hatzala Rescue Committee in Post War Germany by Dr. Alex Grobman is an unusually revealing book about how the Jewish community works. Grobman does so, by describing the situation through the eyes of a man with a single agenda--to bring Judaism back to the Jews devastated by the war. This is a behind the scenes story of what happened in the DP camps of Europe. Every Jewish organization was essentially interested in rehabilitating the survivors in their own image. The battle for their souls was on. Battling for Souls is a case history of how the Jewish community reacts to itself in times of crises.Battling for Souls gives us a new perspective on the history of the post-WWII period and the activities of Orthodox Jewry in America and in Europe. Dr. Grobman's research reveals new aspects of the Vaad Hatzala's activities and those of other relief organizations that have never been available to historians before. This unprecedented presentation helps us understand some of the residual misgivings different populations have about each other in today's Jewish community... This book clears the air.
-Rabbi Nison Wolpin
Editor, The Jewish Observer
Agudas Israel of America
Dr. Grobman has authored an objective and well-written book. He clearly explains the intricacies of power politics in the post-war period, and how it affected the Orthodox in the DP Camps. It's a page-turning, must-read that dispels some harmful myths.
-Steven Schwager
Executive Vice President
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Alex Grobman has an MA and Ph.D. in Contemporary Jewish History from The Hebrew University of Jersualem. He was director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and co-author of Denying History: Who Says The Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?
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