How Can They Find You If You Dont Exist? [Video]

Thursday, February 13, 2025, 12:00 PM PST | 3:00 PM EST

This talk examines the strategies of concealment described in the USC Shoah Foundation testimonies of Jewish refugees who made the journey to Japan to escape Nazi persecution in the early 1940s. The testimonies discuss acts of self-concealment—through religion, occupation, or name—as well as the hiding of physical objects, such as jewelry, money, gold, and essential paperwork. By closely analyzing these personal narratives, the talk explores the unfamiliar and precarious circumstances faced by these refugees, many of whom were children at the time of their escape from Europe and considers the impact of concealment on their survival and agency whilst on the move.

Niamh Hanrahanis a final year PhD student at the University of Manchester, working within the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute. Her research examines the migrations undertaken by Jewish refugees from Europe to Japan during the Holocaust. Niamh was …