Abstract: Engaging microhistorically with the three “diaries” of Clara Licht, a German Jewish refugee from National Socialism who fled to Britain before World War II, this article considers the lives and afterlives of the diaries as both objects of use for Clara and objects of memory for later generations. It argues for the need to view historical items pertaining to migration and persecution within a longer continuum stretching to the present. The article considers how the meaning of the same object alters over generations and how microhistory can elucidate some of the nuances of the experiences of German Jewish refugee families.
Charlie Knight (Wed,) studied this question.