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Memories/Motifs

Rachel Deblinger, Author

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"Hannah"

"Hannah" was a young girl brought from Europe at the end of the war to Palestine by the Youth Aliyah program, sponsored by Hadasah.

In 1946, Hannah story was told in a brochure "Ask...Hannah" that marked the 20,000th child brought to Palestine by Youth Aliyah. The brochure details Hannah's harrowing escape of a mass murder that killed her family and offers Youth Aliyah as a way for her to reclaim a sense of family and comfort.

Her story was then adapted for a radio drama, the script of which was sent to local Hadassah chapters across America. Local leaders were asked to secure radio time for the drama to be performed with local actors, including a young actress who would play Hannah.  Her story was to be performed on air as part of a Hadassah fundraising campaign for Youth Aliyah.

The brochure and the radio script, both part of this path, highlight the employment of survivor stories and the power of these stories to motivate giving in postwar America.  But, they also raise an important question about the relationship between a survivor and their story in this period. "Hannah" is never identified beyond her first name and there is no way to know if the story told by Hadassah is one that happened to the girl in the pictures.
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