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Exile

Dec 19, 2023

The archive and library at LBI contains over 2000 memoirs. On this episode, Mark and literary critic Ruth Franklin, author of A Thousand Darknesses: Lies and Truth in Holocaust Fiction, discuss the line between fact and fiction in memoir writing and the evolution of Holocaust memoirs from first hand accounts to...


Dec 5, 2023

Among the hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees who flooded out of Nazi Germany were countless artists, writers, and musicians. Alexis Rodda, an opera singer and music researcher, has devoted her career to studying just one of them: a composer named Egon Lustgarten. Today, Alexis and Mark discuss how exile impacted...


Nov 21, 2023

The archive at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York is a real treasure trove. You’ll find everything from Albert Einstein’s childhood hot chocolate cups to amulets meant to protect you from demons. In this episode, Mark talks to Markus Krah, LBI’s Executive Director, on why preserving and showcases these amazing...


Nov 7, 2023

Many Jews scrambled to leave 1930s Germany and Austria, and ended up all over the world. Mark and historian Hasia Diner dive into the complexities of immigration during one of the most tumultuous moments of the 20th century - highlighting less discussed destinations like Shanghai, the Dominican Republic, and Kenya.

LBI...


Oct 24, 2023

Love is one of the great constants of human history—and German Jews are no exception. LBI’s archive contains countless memoirs, letters, and diaries that demonstrate the complex romantic lives of German Jews going back centuries. In this episode, Mark Oppenheimer sits down with Christian Bailey, the author of German...