The United States: A Promised Land Behind the Barrier of Affidavits

Drawing on her book Case Closed: Holocaust Survivors in Postwar America, historian Beth B. Cohen examines the reception and resettlement of Holocaust survivors in the United States in the aftermath of World War II. Through extensive archival research, she explores how immigration policy, American Jewish organizations, and broader social attitudes shaped survivors' efforts to rebuild their lives. By bringing institutional records into conversation with personal testimony, the talk illuminates the lived experience of refugee resettlement. This event is part of Many Promised Lands?, LBI's 2026 lecture series covering migration of German-Jewish refugees after 1946. This programming is made possible through the generous support of the Levi-Thalheimer Fund for Research and Public History. Building on the success of the 2025 anniversary lunchtime lectures, Many Promised Lands? is a new series of online talks in 2026 that will explore the migrations of German-Jewish refugees … We use cookies on our site to enable functionality and analyze traffic. By clicking “I Accept” or “X” on this banner, or using our site, you consent to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them in your browser settings. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy.