.- The Face of Exile c c t B L f J This Page Intentionally Left Blank The Face of Exile autobiographical journeys By Judith M. Melton v University of Iowa Press Iowa City University of Iowa Press, Iowa sCzzit4y2 Copyright 0 1998 by the University of Iowa Press All rights reserved Printed in the United Staotfe sA merica Design by Richard Hendel http://www.uiowa.edu/-uipress No part of this book may be reprodourc uesde d ina ny form or by any means, electronico r mechanical, including photocopying and recording, without permission in writing from the publisherA. ll reasonable steps have been takteon contact copyright holdeorfs material used in this book. The publisher would be pleasetdo make suitable arrangements with any whomit has not been possibtleo reach. The poem “Fleeing” from0 the Chimneys by Nelly Sachiss reprinted by permission of FarraSr,t raus & Giroux, Inc. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Melton, Judith M. The face of exile: autobiographijcoaulr neys / by Judith M. Melton. cpm . . Indudes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87745-649-6 I. World War, 1939-1945- Ref&ees “Europe. 2. World War, 1939-1945” Personal narratives. I. Title. ~808.~4159 98 940.53’086’91- dC21 98-2444.0 98 99 00 01 oa c 5 4 3 2 I ForJerry t This Page Intentionally Left Blank Contents Preface, Ijc Introduction: The Experience of Exile and the Autobiographical Impulsex, i part one DISRUPTED LIVES I Escape to Life, 3 The Fall of France: 2 Narratives of Escape andI nternment, rs 3 The Persecution and Flighot f the Jews: Narratives of Survival, 28 4 After the War: Coming to Terms with Exile5, 0 part two RECONSTRUCTIONS 5 Crossing Boundaries: Theoretical Dimensionos f Exile Autobiography,6 3 6 Childhood and the Mystery of Origins, 84 7 The Intellectual Responser,r z 8 A Personal Mythology, r e 9 The Currency ofh guage, 160 IO Reconstructing the Self: Identity and Reflectionso f the Postmodern, 174 11 The End of the Journey, 198 Notes, zor Bibliography, 209 Index, 219 This Page Intentionally Left Blank The completion of this book has beenl oan g-term project. My interest in those who fled Europe during theri se of Nazism began in the early eighties when I was team-teaching a humanities dass on Europe in the twenties andt hirties. It was intensified when my colleague Alan Schaf€er urged me attend a conference at the to Smithsonian Institution entitled “The Muses Flee Hitler” which delineated the influence of amsts and intellectuals who had emi- grated to this country in the thirties on American intellectual trends. The discussion of famous exileas t this conference reminded me that my graduate education in the field of languages reflected this phenomenon sinces o many 6migr& found refuge in language departments across the country. Later, when my interest in the critical study of autobiographye scalated, I recognized that a great number of 6migris had written autobiographies. It seemed very . pertinent to follow exiles through their autobiographies. The journey was fascinating. I gratefidly acknowledge the work of those autobiographical scholars who helped meu nderstand the shifting boundaries of the genre of autobiography. The theoretical writings of James Olney, Paul John Eakin, Albert Stone, Paul Jay, Felicity Nussbaum, Eu- gene Stelzig, andS hari Benstock have been veryim portant for my perspectives on exile autobiography. I particularly want to thank the many friends and colleaguesw ho pointed me to autobiogra- phies which illustrated many of my theses. Paul John Eakin’s work on Saul Friedlinder in Fi~z%ons in Autobigmply led me to Friedlinder’s interesting autobiography. I very much appreciate Lilian Furst’s willingnesst o send met he manuscript versiono f her autobiography, Home Is Somewhere Else. Her autobiographical tes- timony added muctho my reviewo f children who were caught up in the upheaval of the thirties. I am also indebted to the uncover- ing ofC harlotte Salomon’s very unusuala utobiography by Mary ix