Smolny Beyond Borders

A Liberal Arts Initiative

For Men Do Not Live by Bread Alone: Psychological Rehabilitation in Postwar Europe

Moderator

Date

Monday, December 2nd, 6 PM CET (Berlin)

In the aftermath of Word War II, 10 million people were uprooted as a result of nazi persecution. They flocked into displaced persons camps, erected by the newly founded United Nations. Besides physical rehabilitation, psychological rehabilitation became for the first time a concern for humanitarian organization in the camps. In this lecture, we will explore the differing routes differing approaches of psychological rehabilitation took.

Dr. Stella Maria Frei holds a Ph.D. in Modern History from the University of Giessen, an M.A. in History and Eastern European Studies from the University of Hamburg, and a Diploma in American Studies from Smith College. She was a Fellow of the German National Academic Foundation and a Doctoral Fellow at the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. Dr. Frei has taught at the University of Hamburg and the University of Giessen. In addition to her academic work, she has experience as a journalist and in academic public relations. She currently serves as a Senior Project Manager at the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin, where she collaborates with international politicians and experts on addressing global challenges through her work at the Robert Bosch Academy. Her forthcoming publication, Healing Holocaust Survivors: Politics of Psychological Rehabilitation in Postwar Europe, is set to be released by De Gruyter Publishing in 2025.