Author: Zelda Abramson

Based on ethno­graph­ic research of Holocaust, sur­vivors who set­tled in Mon­tréal post World War II, The Mon­tréal Shtetl is an exam­i­na­tion of dis­place­ment migra­tion and reset­tle­ment. The arrival of tens of thou­sands of Jew­ish refugees was pal­pa­ble in the streets of Mon­tréal and their impact on the exist­ing Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty is well-rec­og­nized. This book presents a por­trait of the dai­ly strug­gles of Holo­caust sur­vivors who set­tled in Mon­tréal, where they encoun­tered dif­fi­cul­ties with work, lan­guage, cul­ture, health care, and a Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ty that was not always wel­com­ing to sur­vivors.

The book is organized into three parts: Uprooting; Unpacking; and Making Home. In each part of the book, there are a number of narrations. Some of the interviewees’ narrations span all three parts of the book, while others are in only one or two. In Part 1, Uprooting, the narratives focus on the survivors’ lives before, during and after the war years, culminating in their arrival in Montreal. The narratives in Part 2, Unpacking, reflect the dailiness of rebuilding lives. Making Home, Part 3, is an exploration of the nonmaterial aspects of settling and addresses questions of identity, integration, assimilation, regional politics and belonging. Finally, in the book’s conclusion, Loose Threads, we reflect on how institutional supports, gender, and community relationships shaped the survivors’ settlement experiences, and we discuss the relevance of this story to modern day state policies on refugee immigration.