MEMORIES OF THE HOLOCAUST AND WORLD WAR II

Those of our narrators who were old enough to remember World War II recalled life during wartime America. While experiencing shortages and privation at home, they had little awareness of what was happening across the ocean—perhaps because they were children sheltered by their families and communities, perhaps because Americans in general weren’t receiving adequate information about the Holocaust. Many narrators said their understanding of the Holocaust came only later, as survivors and refugees began to move into their neighborhoods.