No Life Without You : refugee love letters from the 1930s : based on the correspondence of Ernst Moritz ("Mope") Felsenstein and Vera Hirsch / Ernst Moritz Felsenstein [and three others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Felsenstein, Ernst Moritz, 1899-1973, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jews--Germany--Correspondence.

Jews.

Love-letters.

Refugees.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxi, 617 pages) : illustrations

Place of Publication:

London, England : Open Book Publishers, 2024.

Summary:

"The letters and journals of Ernst Moritz and Vera Hirsch Felsenstein, two German Jewish refugees caught in the tumultuous years leading to the Second World War, form the core of this book. Abridged in English from the original German, the correspondence and diaries have been expertly compiled and annotated by their only son who preserves his parents' love story in their own words. Their letters, written from Germany, England, Russia, and Palestine capture their desperate efforts to save themselves and their family, friends and businesses from the fascist tyranny. The book begins by contextualizing the early lives of Moritz and Vera. Because the letters are written to each other almost daily, they are incredibly immediate. Most centrally, the letters recount an astonishing love story, sensual in its intimate detail, and full of dramatic pathos in revealing the anxieties of being apart as the Nazi threat unfolds and broadens. It is told through the voices of two exceptionally articulate letter writers. This volume offers insights into the moral and psychological dilemmas faced by German Jews as a targeted community. It affords a unique appreciation of the impact of historical and socio-political upheavals on the lives of a persecuted minority. A scholarly introduction by Rachel Pistol draws out the main themes raised by this correspondence, observing its relevance to contemporary debates about migration and political authority."--Publisher's website.

Contents:

Refugees: A Contextual Introduction / Rachel Pistol

One: Familien Hirsch / Frank Felsenstein

Two: Mainly Mope / Frank Felsenstein

Three: Victoriaschule / Frank Felsenstein

Four: "And So What?" / Frank Felsenstein

Five: Heising / Frank Felsenstein

Six: Of Books And Arts (1): Max Schwimmer / Frank Felsenstein

Seven: Of Books And Arts (2): Thomas Mann / Frank Felsenstein

Eight: "I Will Give Up Medicine!!!!!" / Frank Felsenstein

Nine: Under The Swastika / Frank Felsenstein

Ten: "Did I Do The Right Thing?" / Frank Felsenstein

Eleven: Zionism / Frank Felsenstein

Twelve: Gretel / Frank Felsenstein

Thirteen: Marks and Mitja / Frank Felsenstein

Fourteen: "I Stole A Kiss From You At The Train Station" / Frank Felsenstein

Fifteen: Mope In Palestine / Frank Felsenstein

Sixteen: Palestine Or Vera? / Frank Felsenstein

Seventeen: Dover / Frank Felsenstein

Eighteen: "Happy And Sad At The Same Time" / Frank Felsenstein

Nineteen: Letters From A Wretched Coffee House Sitter / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty: "More Of A Stranger Here Now" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-One: "The Letter Writing Last Guest" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Two: "Human Beings Are Good!" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Three: "Every Turn Of The Wheel" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Four: "I Will Come To London Directly" / Frank Felsenstein Twenty-Five: "The Alpha And Omega Of My Life" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Six: "This Ever So Long Time Of Insatiable Longing" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Seven: "10,108 White Foxes" / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Eight: Visas, Visas, Visas / Frank Felsenstein

Twenty-Nine: "Today, For The First Time In My Life, I Wished I Were A Man!" / Frank Felsenstein

Thirty: "The Little Fruit That Fell From The Tree" / Frank Felsenstein

Thirty-One: "No Life Without You" / Frank Felsenstein

Thirty-Two: Afterword / Frank Felsenstein.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.