Dr. James Martin’s review of the book, “Jews in Post-Holocaust Germany, 1945-1953,” by J. Howard Geller, appears in the spring 2006 edition of the national publication, “History Reviews of New Books.” Martin is chairman of the Department of Government, History and Justice at Campbell University.”In dealing with an oft-neglected topic, Geller demonstrates convincingly that the remnant of the Holocaust in Germany was by no means of one accord,” writes Martin. “If anything, the book elucidates the tensions existing between various Jewish residents of postwar Germany—indigenous German Jews versus displaced persons from Eastern Europe, Jews in the Allied versus Soviet sectors, German Jews versus the world Jewish community—all of these come to light in the work. Yet in spite of these challenges, the disparate members of the Jewish community eventually united and by 1953 had revitalized their position in Germany.”A cum laude graduate of Duke University, Dr. James Martin received a Master of Arts degree from East Carolina University and a Ph.D. from Emory University. A past president of the Association of Historians in North Carolina, Martin joined the Campbell University faculty in 1991.The focus of Martin’s historical research is Jewish settlements in North Carolina and how the Jewish community contributed to the state’s civic, professional and cultural climate. He is currently working on a book about the small town Jewish community in North Carolina.
Martin reviews book for national history journal