Haschomer Hazair - A Safe Haven for Wounded Souls

The Jewish youth movement Haschomer Hazair, founded in Vienna in the dawn of World War One, has a particular significance among the countless youth organisations across the world. It accomplished a lot for Jewish people, including the buildup of the state of Israel. The specific educational activities and the uncomparable atmosphere inside the movement brought about a close contact among the members, independently of age and place of living. An extraordinary chapter of the Haschomer Hazair history was of course the time after World War Two, when survivors and emigrants were surging back to Austria. They grieved for murdered and missed family members, were undernourished and often sick, yet they immediately started to build the Haschomer Hazari up again in Vienna.

In over 40 articles the authors of that generation share their memories, soberly and fascinating as well as shocking. The text with numerous photographs is a first class historical document of an unwritten piece of Jewish history in Vienna.