Yad Vashem and Herder-Verlag release collection of Holocaust survivor letters

Herder-Verlag, in collaboration with the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, has released a new collection of letters titled ‘Nach so viel Schmerz und Pein - Erste Briefe nach dem Holocaust’ (After So Much Pain and Suffering - First Letters After the Holocaust) in German.

The collection features private correspondence from Holocaust survivors written in the immediate aftermath of World War II. One notable example is a letter from Arthur Feige, a Jewish Berliner, dated March 13, 1946, in which he expresses his desire to emigrate to Palestine due to his unhappiness in Germany.

German Education Minister Karin Prien presented the book alongside the Yad Vashem Circle of Friends, noting that the letters serve as testimonies to the value of democracy and aim to foster compassion and understanding in future generations.