This landmark book is the first comprehensive account of the lives of the Jews who remained in Germany immediately following the war. Gathering never-before-published eyewitness accounts from Holocaust survivors, Michael Brenner presents a remarkable history of this period. Brenner brings to life the psychological, spiritual, and material obstacles they surmounted as they rebuilt their lives in Germany.

At the heart of his narrative is a series of fifteen interviews Brenner conducted with some of the most important witnesses who played an active role in the reconstruction - including presidents of Jewish communities, rabbis, and journalists.