Introduction: Resources Related to Survival on the Margins

Over 200,000 Polish Jews fled Polish territory and survived the Second World War in the far reaches of the Soviet Union. They contended with extreme hunger, epidemic disease, cruel treatment, and the deaths of their family members and compatriots. And yet, on their return to Poland after the war, their own travails paled in comparison to the genocide they narrowly escaped. Survival on the Margins tells the improbable and largely unknown story of their wartime experiences.

The book, published in November 2020, includes five chronological chapters about the experiences of the Polish Jewish refugees in the USSR as well as fifteen historical photographs and documents and a primary bibliography. This website has been created, with the help of the Open Publishing program at the Penn State University Libraries, to house supplemental information and documentation related to the book.

The searchable bibliography contains the memoirs and collections of primary documents listed in the published book’s bibliography as well as the entire selection of secondary works cited throughout the book. It should be of use to scholars and students interested in learning more about the topic areas or particular books or authors.

Other tabs on this website include contemporary photographs related to the book’s subject areas, links to upcoming and previous events related to the book, links to book reviews, and links to the author’s other related publications.