To Wear the Dust of War From Bialystok to Shanghai to the Promised Land, an Oral History

On the eve of World War I, ten-year-old Samuel Iwry and his family joined other Jewish refugees in fleeing Poland for Russia. At age twenty-nine, Iwry was forced to flee again--this time from the Soviets--and ended up in Shanghai, joining 20,000 Jewish refugees already there. The story of the diaspora caused by the Holocaust is well-known, but the Far Eastern dimension has come to light only very recently. Iwry's story unfolds in his own compelling words, conveying the harrowing details of flight and survival into vivid detail. Leslie Kelly suceeds in placing Iwry's experiences into much wider historical context. This oral history sheds light on Jewish life in eastern Europe during the inter-war period, the search for a safe haven from Nazis and Soviets, daily life in the Shanghai ghetto, and emigration to America. Iwry's story is representative of the Jewish experience but also completely unique.

Samuel Iwry is Professor Emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University. L.J.H. Kelley is a writer and editor who studied with Professor Iwry.