Refugees and citizens in East-Central Europe in the 20th century

EHRI Podcast: “A Photo from No-Man’s Land” with Michal Frankl

The UnRef Principal Investigator Michal Frankl joined the recent episode of the EHRI podcast, hosted by Katharina Freise. Michal Frankl investigates No-Man’s Lands and the fate  of the refugees who ended up in these desolate places.

In this episode, he talks about a photograph on the cover of a French magazine from 1938, showing two destitute looking women, stuck in so-called No-Man’s Land. At the end of the 1930s, the emergence of “No Man’s Lands” symbolized the desperate situation of Jewish refugees who were expelled from countries throughout  East and Central Europe. Photos, testimonies and other source material that give a voice to survivors who stayed in these No Man’s Lands are scarce. However, Gerard Friedenfeld, who in 1938 found himself trapped in one of the No-Man’s Lands as a 14 year old boy, has given a harrowing account of his experiences and we can listen to his testimony. Michal Frankl tells the story of Gerard Friedenfeld and the women on the magazine cover, trying to bring alive the situation in the No Man’s Lands.

Release date: 24 November 2022 More about the Podcast Series For the Living and the Dead. Traces of the Holocaust

A Photo from No-Man's Land