Alex Scheepens, “George L. Mosse Graduate Exchange Fellowship (2023-2024)”

As part of my dissertation on Dutch Jewry in the Shoah, I was privileged and fortunate enough to receive the George L. Mosse Graduate Exchange Fellowship to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This prestigious award allowed me to remain in Israel an additional year, finish up my archival work, and begin writing my doctoral thesis. From August 2023 to July 2024, I immersed myself in a wealth of primary sources and scholarly works housed at some of the world’s top-ranking universities, archives, and libraries. During this period, I deepened my understanding of Jewish life during the Holocaust and incorporated diverse perspectives, approaches, and materials into my dissertation project.

The Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem constructed an exhibit in support of the hostages who were kidnapped on October 7. Israeli universities have traditionally played a significant role in shaping political and social discourse in the country
The Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem constructed an exhibit in support of the hostages who were kidnapped on October 7. Israeli universities have traditionally played a significant role in shaping political and social discourse in the country

The 2023-2024 academic year, however, began with a devastating turn of events. On the morning of October 7, my family and I were startled by the sound of the air siren in Jerusalem, which typically signals the presence of a rocket or mortar barrage, or any other foreign object, entering Israeli air space. Having lived in Israel for eighteen years and experienced multiple tumultuous periods, including the Second Intifada of the early 2000s, I was more surprised than fearful. I quickly grabbed my children, as we rushed down the stairs to the apartment building’s shelter, where we remained together with our neighbors for the required ten minutes. At that moment, we were unaware of the full scale of the tragedy that had struck Israeli towns and communities that Saturday morning, and it took several days to comprehend the enormity of what had occurred. The October 7 massacre—and the Israel-Hamas War that ensued—delayed the start of Israeli academic year by several months. While the immediate aftermath of the events left me somewhat disoriented, especially with my daughter’s school temporarily switching to an online format—I managed to regain focus and resume work on my dissertation after a couple of weeks.

While it is entirely understandable that most exchange students would have chosen to leave the country and return to their home institutions (as many fellows at Yad Vashem did), my family decided to stay in Israel, drawing on our past experiences living in the country and our familiarity with the region’s geopolitical tensions—despite the shock of the first few days and the option to fly our entire family back.

The National Library of Israel’s new building opened its doors in October 2023.
The National Library of Israel’s new building opened its doors in October 2023.

The first two months of the fellowship were dedicated to continuing my research on the Jewish hiding experience in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. As part of my work, I investigate the choices, motivations, behaviors, and experiences of those Jews who sought to escape the Nazi deportations and find refuge in the attics, basements, cellars, barns, and underground shelters of their non-Jewish countrymen. By examining the local conditions and personal circumstances of these individuals, as well as highlighting the social dynamics between Jews and non-Jews in Dutch society, I demonstrate the diversity and distinctiveness of the Jewish experience, which was determined by factors on the personal, communal, and national level. Socioeconomic status and religious affiliation, integration into Dutch society and the creation of social networks, family status and geographic setting, gender and the existing generational divide, and whether one was a well-established Dutch citizen or a newly arrived immigrant from Germany, Austria, or Poland—all deeply influenced whether a Jew in the Netherlands could hide during the Second World War.

Being in Israel provided, of course, a distinct advantage to my dissertation project, as I had direct access to several important resources, including the Hebrew University, the National Library of Israel, and, of course, Yad Vashem, Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and a leading center for Holocaust research and education. The proximity of these archives, libraries, and academic institutions allowed me to access a wide spectrum of primary sources—including diaries, letters, memoirs, family records, and survivor testimonies—and scholarly works and conduct in-depth research that would have been more challenging from elsewhere.

 

Watch: Walking the path to Yad Vashem Museum on a rainy day.

After these two months of intensive research, I transitioned to the writing phase of my dissertation. This shift was both natural and necessary, given the wealth of information I had gathered until that point. Writing my thesis in Israel, surrounded by an abundance of resources and a supportive academic environment, proved immensely beneficial. In this setting, I  established a focused writing schedule without the usual constraints of travel or limited access to materials. As a result, I was able to complete two crucial chapters of my dissertation, each focusing on a distinct aspect of the Jewish experience in hiding.

In the first of these chapters, I examined the hiding experiences of Jewish women, who were doubly vulnerable during the Holocaust. Not only were these women Jewish and, thus, subjected to the Nazi racial laws and destined for deportation and death—but they were also women, lacking, when hiding alone, the support of a male figure and continuously being at the mercy of men. Regardless of their age or family status, Jewish women not only lived with the constant fear of denunciation but were also confronted with the omnipresent threat of sexual violence. I soon realized, however, that going into hiding also challenged the ideal of the prewar Jewish family; undermined parenthood and, in particular, motherhood; and, in some cases, required women to cope, both physically and emotionally, with pregnancies, birth, abortions, and with the separation from their newborns due to the uncertain circumstances arising from the German occupation.

The Pillar of Heroism commemorates Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. The inscription on the concrete block reads: “Now and forever in memory of those who rebelled in the camps and ghettos, fought in the woods, in the underground and with the Allied forces; braved their way to Eretz Israel; and died sanctifying the name of God.”
The Pillar of Heroism commemorates Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. The inscription on the concrete block reads: “Now and forever in memory of those who rebelled in the camps and ghettos, fought in the woods, in the underground and with the Allied forces; braved their way to Eretz Israel; and died sanctifying the name of God.”

The second chapter I completed focused on the unique hiding experience of Jewish children, who, unlike adults, had a different understanding of their surroundings and faced different psychological and emotional traumas due to their age. Even though their lives were spared from the ominous and inhuman living conditions of the ghettos and camps, their existence in hiding was not without physical and mental burdens and hardships. They often experienced the sudden separation from their parents and siblings; the disintegration of the known and familiar, which included going to school, to parks, to the beach, and to theaters; and the loss of their childhood and social circles. Some children experienced abuse and exploitation from those people who were supposed to protect them, while others lived in continual terror of being sexually molested. There were also children who coped with forced baptisms and were expected, out of gratitude, to succumb to these conversion efforts and embrace their rescuers’ religion. And let us not forget the fraught reunion between children and their parents—if everyone, of course, survived the war.

As I was drafting this second chapter, however, I realized the necessity of additional research to adequately address some of the above-mentioned complexities. Being in Jerusalem made it convenient to return to Yad Vashem, a short distance away from where I live, to explore additional documentation and testimonies. But it was not just the archival materials that enriched my writing but also the staff at Yad Vashem, who were a valuable point of contact and guidance throughout my research. I am particularly grateful to Professor Dan Michman, Head of the International Institute for Holocaust Research and Incumbent of the John Najmann Chair of Holocaust Studies at Yad Vashem, whose extensive work on the Holocaust in the Netherlands was instrumental. Alongside him, other faculty and staff generously shared their insights and directed me to relevant resources, helping me navigate the methodological challenges associated with understanding the hiding-related conversion of Jewish children during the Shoah.

The Children’s Memorial, hollowed out from an underground cavern, is a tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who perished in the Shoah. Walking through the memorial, visitors will hear the names of murdered children, their ages, and their countries of origin in the background.
The Children’s Memorial, hollowed out from an underground cavern, is a tribute to the approximately 1.5 million Jewish children who perished in the Shoah. Walking through the memorial, visitors will hear the names of murdered children, their ages, and their countries of origin in the background.

The flexible nature of the fellowship also allowed me—like last year—to teach an asynchronous, online course on Word War II during the summer of 2024. For eight weeks, undergraduate students from UW-Madison explored the major political, social, military, and ideological shifts of World War II. They engaged in discussions about the war’s legacies and memories, analyzed primary source documents, and connected historical themes to modern issues of war and genocide, highlighting the ongoing significance of history in understanding the present.

Promotional poster for History 357: The Second World War.
Promotional poster for History 357: The Second World War.

Towards the latter part of the academic year, I was honored to receive the Claims Conference Saul Kagan Fellowship in Advanced Shoah Studies. This fellowship, a prestigious recognition in the field of Holocaust research, has allowed me to stay in Jerusalem for the 2024-2025 academic year, gain access to those resources that are fundamental to my work, and further advance my dissertation project. Remaining in Israel has also provided my family with much-needed stability, particularly my children, who were able to maintain their schooling and social circles without the disruption of relocation. For my spouse and me, this decision has meant a continuity in our professional endeavors without the stress of frequent moves. Balancing these aspects of professional growth and personal stability has been essential for our well-being. Thus, even though the Graduate Exchange has come to an end, my family and I are looking forward to remaining in Israel until I complete my dissertation.

One of my favorite moments in Jerusalem is the beginning of the Shabbat, which is characterized by a tranquil pause from the city’s everyday hustle and bustle.
One of my favorite moments in Jerusalem is the beginning of the Shabbat, which is characterized by a tranquil pause from the city’s everyday hustle and bustle.

For the past two years, the George L. Mosse Graduate Exchange Fellowship to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been an invaluable period of my dissertation work, academic growth, and personal enrichment. The fellowship enabled me to continue my research, write significant portions of my dissertation, meet with faculty and staff at the Hebrew University and Yad Vashem, teach and engage with undergraduate students over the summer months, and secure further support for my work through the Claims Conference. The experiences of the past year have not only deepened my understanding of the Jewish hiding experience in Nazi-occupied Netherlands but also brought me closer to completing my doctoral studies at UW-Madison and allowed me to contribute to the field of Holocaust studies. I am grateful for the opportunities the fellowship has provided and look forward to the continued development of my research and academic career.

The Scheepens family in one of the many parks Jerusalem has to offer.
The Scheepens family in one of the many parks Jerusalem has to offer.

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