Description: An exploration of the fact and fiction relating to the history of Jewish revenge during and after the Holocaust.
Brief description: Laura Jockusch is Albert Abramson Chair in Holocaust Studies at Brandeis University, USA. She is the author of Collect and Record! Jewish Holocaust Documentation in Early Postwar Europe (2012; winner of the National Jewish Book Award and co-winner of the Sybil Halpern Milton Book Prize) and the editor of Khurbn-Forshung: Documents on Early Holocaust Research in Postwar Poland (2021). She is also the co-editor of (with Gabriel N. Finder) Jewish Honor Courts: Revenge, Retribution and Reconciliation in Europe and Israel after the Holocaust (2015; finalist for National Jewish Book Award); (with Andreas Kraft and Kim Wünschmann) Revenge, Retribution, Reconciliation: Justice and Emotions between Conflict and Mediation (2016); and (with Devin O. Pendas) Cambridge History of the Holocaust, vol. 4: Aftermath, Outcomes, and Repercussions (2025).
Review Quotes:
"In this pathbreaking study sure to set the standard for future works on the topic, Laura Jockusch traces revenge from Nazi antisemitic fantasies to Jewish wartime and postwar responses, culminating in its afterlife on screen. Combining sharp analysis with accessible storytelling, she frames revenge as a central theme in Holocaust history and its popular memory." --Avinoam J. Patt, Professor of Holocaust Studies, New York University, USA
"With characteristic insight and verve, Laura Jockusch tackles the thorny subject of Jewish revenge in the Holocaust and beyond. She sharply analyzes antisemitic projections, but the heart of the book is her kaleidoscopic view of revenge and its many meanings for survivors: revenge as an emotional state, a fantasy, coping measure, taboo, faded passion, and deeply human response to injustice. A profound and unforgettable book." --Doris L. Bergen FRSC, Chancellor Rose and Ray Wolfe Professor of Holocaust Studies, University of Toronto