David Simon - Holocaust Escapees and Global Development: Hidden Histories

More praise for Holocaust Escapees and Global Development

Simon has undertaken a novel and also an unusual quest, one which sheds new light on the genius and creativity that the Nazis set out to destroy by the Holocaust.

Reinhart Kssler, Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut, Freiburg

A fascinating and important book about the extraordinary contributions to global development by those who escaped the Holocaust.

Nicholas Stern, LSE, and former Chief Economist for the World Bank

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Simon is Director of Mistra Urban Futures, Gothenburg, and Professor of Development Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London. He specialises in developmentenvironment issues, with particular reference to cities, climate change and sustainability, and the relationships between theory, policy and practice, on all of which he has published extensively. He is the author, editor and co-editor of many books and journal special issues on cities, developmentenvironment challenges and climate change adaptation, most recently Rethinking Sustainable Cities (2016), Urban Planet (2018) and Key Thinkers on Development (2019).

HOLOCAUST ESCAPEES AND GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

HIDDEN HISTORIES

David Simon

Holocaust Escapees and Global Development: Hidden Histories was first published in 2019 by Zed Books Ltd, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London SE11 5RR, UK.

www.zedbooks.net

Copyright David Simon 2019

The right of David Simon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

Typeset in Plantin and Kievit by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon

Index by John Barker

Cover design by Burgess & Beech

Cover photo Jared I. Lenz Photography/Getty

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of Zed Books Ltd.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78699-513-1 hb

ISBN 978-1-78699-512-4 pb

ISBN 978-1-78699-514-8 pdf

ISBN 978-1-78699-515-5 epub

ISBN 978-1-78699-516-2 mobi

This book is dedicated to my late parents, Ruth and Wolfgang Simon, and the remarkable group of people whose life stories and legacies inspired and fill these pages. All their young lives were torn apart by the Holocaust (and two again by subsequent purges in Poland and Romania), yet they were determined to avoid the common survivors traps of guilt and victimhood. Instead, they seized every moment, every opportunity, to adapt to radically changed circumstances and rebuild their lives in their countries of refuge or subsequent settlement, using their good fortune and expertise to help make the world a better place through long and creative lives. The scars, of course, remained to varying extents and it is gratifying that for some, at least, engaging with me over the course of this work helped fill in gaps or provide fresh perspectives on their formative experiences and their legacies.

CONTENTS