Moving Wo
rlds: Jewish Humanitarian Activism beyond the Imperial Age
Dr. Rebekka Grossmann
This project is located at the intersection between international Jewish negotiations of modern selfhood and global processes of decolonization. It traces the encounters between Jewish journalists and intellectuals and anti-colonial leaders to explore their impact on both international Jewish humanitarian engagement and emerging “Third World” discourses during the Cold War.
Stateles
s Diplomats: The Zionist Diplomacy at the League of Nations, 1919-1939
Dr. Eran Shlomi
The research portrays the story of the Zionist diplomatic representation in Geneva, the seat of the League of Nations, during the interwar period. It includes an analysis of the activities and working methods of the principal professional Zionist diplomats in Geneva, Victor (Avigdor) Jacobson (1869-1934), followed by Nahum Goldmann (1895-1982). Moreover, the research explores the square relations between the British, the Zionists, the Arabs, and the League of Nations, and offers an international perspective on Zionist historiography and British Mandate scholarship.
Read More
Gabriel B
ach and the Prosecution of Nazis in the State of Israel
Dr. Yehudit Dori Deston
The research reviews the main contributions of prosecutor and Justice Gabriel Bach regarding four legal affairs in which the Holocaust and its perpetrators were prosecuted in the Israeli court: the appeals proceeding in the Gruenwald-Kastner trial (1957), the Eichmann trial (1960-1962), the efforts to prosecute and extradite Gustav Franz Wagner (1978-1979), and the Demjanjuk trial (1993). The research proposes an historical and legal explanation of Bach's actions and attitudes towards bringing Nazi criminals to trial and to present a credible picture of the evolution of Israel’s legal efforts vis à vis Nazi criminals and their collaborators over the years.
The Paper was published in: Tel-Aviv University Law Review (Iyunei Mishpat) on 31.03.2022.
A Surviv
or, Legislator and Jurist: Joseph Lamm’s Legal Legacy in Relation to the Nazis and Nazi Collaborators Law (1950)
Dr. Yehudit Dori Deston & Prof. Dan Porat
The research examines Joseph Lamm's (born in Austria, 1899) part in the enactment of the Nazis and Nazi Collaborators Law of 1950, and the ruling based on it in the Israeli court. The research claims that Lamm's experience as a prisoner in the Dachau camp shaped his legal worldview on the issue of judging Jews accused of collaboration with the Nazis, as reflected both in his role as legislator and judge.
A Trial Wi
thout a Defendant
Dr. Yehudit Dori Deston
The research reveals the records of a mock trial which was conducted in 1985 in Jerusalem for SS officer, Josef Mengele, in the absence of the accused. At the heart of the proceedings stood the testimonies of 30 Auschwitz survivors, which were intended to constitute evidentiary material that would serve as proof of Mengele’s crimes when he would be brought to a "real" criminal trial. The research seeks to examine the difference of a criminal proceedings versus other stages, including semi-legal proceedings, for the purposes of documentation, commemoration and shaping the collective memory of the Holocaust.
La
w and Emotions in Transit: The Central Court of Honor in Munich (1946-1950)
Dr. Rivka Brot
The research deals with the Munich Central Court of Honor (Erngericht, Yiddish). Established by Jewish Displaced Persons (DPs) in the American zone of occupation in Germany (1946-1950), the Court was authorized to resolve disputes between DP officials. The research offers a textual analysis of court records, arguing that the records reflect the challenging living conditions of Holocaust survivors in the immediate postwar period.
5.png“Hast thou murdered, and also taken possession?” Nazi Wrongs and the West German Equalization of Burdens Law
Dr. Iris Nachum
The project investigates how the West German Equalization of Burdens Law (Lastenausgleichsgesetz, LAG) coped, in theory and in practice, with cases involving Nazi wrongs. The LAG was enacted by the West German legislature on August 14, 1952 and intended to financially compensate those Germans who had suffered economic harm due to World War II.