Biographical Portrait A Failed Mission In 1946, Ben Zion Goldberg traveled through the Soviet Union as a journalist. But his journey was part of a personal mission as well: he was determined to keep the newly established dialogue with Jewish organizations in the USSR alive – hoping that, in doing so, he could contribute to a more peaceful world.
Biographical Portrait Hungarian – Communist – Jew? This article sheds light on some facets of the life of the philosopher Ernő Gáll, who as a Jew, a communist and a Hungarian was both politically persecuted and a perpetrator. A committed intellectual, he acted as a mediator between different political factions and hostile ethnic groups throughout his life. In doing so, he developed an ethic of dignity and responsibility and coined the phrase "the dignity of individual character," which also has relevance for today's debates around the issue of identity.
Background Article Post-War Jewish Migration from the USSR and the refuseniki movement The post-WW II Jewish migration from the Soviet Union (and also after its dissolution) is one of the largest in modern history. Altogether 2.75 million Soviet Jews left the USSR for Israel, the United States, Germany and elsewhere. The position of the Soviet state with respect to emigration was remarkably ambivalent: in some cases, it was allowed and even encouraged, in others, others; it was controlled and strongly limited. The Jewish emigration movement that arose in the late 1960s and continued throughout the 1970s-1980s became an example of resistance and activism within the authoritarian system, which increasingly alerted international attention. In one way or another, it affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and changed the appearance of many cities and towns within the Soviet Union and outside it.
