In the aftermath of the Holocaust, Jewish historian Zosa Szajkowski stole tens of thousands of documents from France and sold them to libraries in the United States. To understand why he did it, Leff takes us "backstage" at the archives and reveals the powerful ideological, economic, and scientific forces that made Holocaust-era Jewish scholars care more deeply than ever before about preserving the remnants of their past.

• Introduction


• Chapter 1: Szajkowski's Passion


• Chapter 2: A Usable Past


• Chapter 3: A Salvage Operation


• Chapter 4: The Parachutist


• Chapter 5: Partisans of the Exodus


• Chapter 6: The Fact Collector


• Chapter 7: French Losses


• Chapter 8: The Buyers


• Conclusion


• Bibliography of works by Z. Szajkowski


• General Bibliography

Lisa Moses Leff is Associate Professor of History at American University, where she is also affiliated with the Jewish studies program. She is the author of Sacred Bonds of Solidarity: The Rise of Jewish Internationalism in Nineteenth-century France.