No Life Without You: Refugee Love Letters from the 1930s

The letters and journals of Ernst Moritz (’Mope’) and Vera Hirsch Felsenstein, two German Jewish refugees experiencing the tumultuous years leading up to the Second World War, form the core of this book. Abridged in an English translation from the original German, this vast correspondence and diaries has been expertly compiled and annotated by their son, Franklin Felsenstein, who has preserved his parents’ love story in their own words. Their letters, written from Germany, England, Russia, and Palestine capture their ongoing efforts to save temselves and their family, friends, and businesses from the fascist tyranny that imperils them.

A scholarly introduction by Rachel Pistol draws out the main themes raised by this correspondence, both on a broad historical scale - including concepts such as migration and displacement, and the impact of political demagoguery on individual lives - and in more specific ways, including reflections on how organisations in Britain responded to the influx of refugees created by Hitler’s brutal policies. Pistol also draws out the relevance of this history to contemporary debates about migration and political leadership.

This volume offers profound insights into the moral and psychological dilemmas faced by German Jews as a targeted community, and offers a unique understanding of the impact of historical and socio-political upheavals on the everyday lives of ordinary people.