“I Am Their Jew”: Karla Raveh’s Testimony in Germany and in Israel

Abstract:This article examines the differences in how Holocaust testimony is told and received in Israel and in Germany through an analysis of the unique case study of Karla Raveh (1927–2017). After forty years of silence, Raveh became an admired witness-celebrity in her prewar hometown in Germany, where she spent every summer for thirty years bearing testimony before thousands of Germans. Meanwhile, her testimony received little to no attention in Israel, her adopted home. Raveh’s case study raises questions about the complex interplay between individual testimonials and national context, and between personal motivations and intended audiences.