Dr. Elkhnanan Elkes of the Kovno Ghetto: A Son's Holocaust Memoir - Softcover

Elkes, Joel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557252319 ISBN 13: 9781557252319

Publisher: Paraclete Pr, 1999

Synopsis

This memoir is a tribute to an extraordinary community and an extraordinary leader. Ghetto Kovno was one of the very few Ghettos in the Holocaust to be headed by a Council elected by the Jewish community, rather than one appointed by the Germans. In the face of relentless, murderous pressure, this Council attempted to maintain a civic structure and, by whatever means possible, to save Jewish lives. Despite terrible odds, it partially succeeded.

At the head of the Ghetto stood Dr. Elkhanan Elkes, a distinguished physician who is emerging as a luminous figure in the history of the Holocaust. This Memoir recounts the march of events from the initial German invasion of Lithuania on June 22, 1941 to the final destruction of the Ghetto on July 13-15, 1944. It is based on sources quoted in the text and personal papers in possession of the author. Also included are reproductions of extraordinary water colors and pen- and-ink drawings executed at the time in the Ghetto by the historic Esther Lurie, who served as artist-witness-recorder and visual chronicler to her community.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"The story of the Kovno Ghetto is a powerful and illuminating moment in the Holocaust . . .This memoir is a tribute to a courageously noble figure, and a powerful and unique contribution to our understanding of Jewish history and the durability of the human spirit." (Walter Reich, Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Professor of International Affairs, Ethics and Human Behavior, George Washington University, and Former Director, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum)

"A most impressive and touching account of the Kovno tragedy." (Jeshajahu Weinberg, Founding Director, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC)

About the Author

Dr. Joel Elkes, son of Dr. Elkhanan Elkes, is Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus, the John Hopkins University, and Distinguished University Professor, Emeritus, the University of Louisville. Between 1963 and 1975 he served as Henry Phipps Professor and Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the John Hopkins University and the Psychiatrist-in-Chief at the John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland.

Educated in Lithuania and Switzerland, Dr. Joel Elkes came to England in 1931 and studied medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, London. Beginning in physical chemistry and pharmacology, he moved into psychiatry, and, in 1951, founded the Department of Experimental Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham (UK), the first of its kind in the world. The Department emphasized the continuity between basic laboratory research and clinical psychiatry. Since coming to the United States in 1957, he has built three major research centers for the Brain Sciences as they relate to mental illness. He has contributed significantly to the founding of the new science of Psychopharmacology, a science dealing with the play of chemical influences on mental life, and the place of drugs in the management and treatment of the mentally ill. He is a Founding Fellow and Senior Scholar-in-Residence at the Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Edition details

• Publisher: Paraclete Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1557252319
• ISBN 13: 9781557252319
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 119