Professor: Ronald Spector
Department: History
Title: From Dachau to Beijing: tThe Extraordinary Career of Dr. Jacob Rosenthal
Description: Searching for a student with very good to excellent German reading skills to translate the diary of Jakob Rosenfeld into English. Rosenfeld was an Austrian -Jewish doctor and holocaust survivor who was imprisoned at Dachau concentration camp and then was able to make his way to Shanghai, which at that time had become a haven for European Jews, His diary, “Ich Kannte Sie Alle” details his years with Chinese Communist New Fourth Army fighting the Japanese and subsequently with the People’ Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. He became a general and was a close associate of high ranking Communist Party leaders such as Liu Shao Xi, Mao Tse tung and General Chen Yi. His diary is of significant import to my work on the Chinese CivilWar, which is part of my book-in-progress, “A Continent Erupts:War and the Shaping of Contemporary Asia 1945-1954”
Duties: The Ra’s principal responsibility would be to translate relevant portions of the diary. He/she may also have the option of producing a short paper for additional credit, on one or more of the personalities, events or organizations discussed in the diary.
Time commitment: 1-3 hours per week (average)
Credit hour option*: 1
Submit Cover Letter/Resume to: spector@gwu.edu
*If credit is sought, all registration deadlines and requirements must be met. Students selected to be research assistants should contact Ben Faulkner at benfaulkner@gwu.edu whether they intend to pursue credit or not.
