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Article: Why History Matters: Life and Thought.
- Article from:
- The Women's Review of Books
- Article date:
- February 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Old City Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As the age of extremes, the twentieth century has produced more than its fair share of manicheans. Believers in the absolutes of good and evil, and in the equality of their force in the world, can be found in every gender and age group. In Gerda Lerner's stark vision of human history lies the shadow of twentieth-century Nazism, the exile or incarceration of millions. Among them were Lerner and her kin, victims of the version of evil that flourished in Austria after the German occupation.
Despite persecution and flight, Gerda Lerner prevailed. She became a founder of university-based women's history in this country, as well as a founding member of NOW, an exemplar for ...