Betty N. Hoffman – författare

Millions of Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Those people fortunate enough to survive had their lives destroyed by the Nazis. Survivors had to rebuild their lives, often from nothing: no homes, no jobs, and no family. Author Betty N. Hoffman details stories of survival from the Holocaust and the liberation of Nazi Europe, from the Displaced Persons camps to the founding of the State of Israel.

Compares the experiences of Soviet/Russian Jewish immigrants to the U.S. during two different time frames.This ethnographic study compares and contrasts the changing ethnic identity of those Russian Jews who settled in Hartford, Connecticut between 1881 and 1930 with that of the Soviet Jews who remained in Russia after the Revolution, became Soviet citizens, and emigrated after 1975. Although both groups were labeled "Jews," their internal definitions of what constituted being Jewish and their personal experiences were radically different. Using both archival and contemporary oral histories, Betty N. Hoffman traces the stories of real people whose lives and choices were affected by both their ethnic identity and the larger movements around them as they made new homes in the United States.