Survivors' Haggadah

From USHMM’s Facebook:

Passover, which marks the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt, was one of the first Jewish holidays many survivors observed together after liberation. They celebrated their freedom, but also mourned those they lost.

An adaptation of the traditional Passover Haggadah, which serves as a script for the meal, was created out of the experiences of two survivors, Yosef Dov Sheinson, who arranged and illustrated the text, and Miklós Adler, whose woodcuts were featured. Entitled Musaf le-Hagadah shel Pesaḥ (or "Supplement to the Passover Haggadah"), the work was originally produced by two Zionist organizations and was brought to the attention of US Army Chaplain Abraham J. Klausner⁠—pictured here.

Rabbi Klausner added a patriotic introduction in English and the cover with the "A" insignia in recognition of the role of the US Third Army in the liberation, in reproducing the Haggadah, and in supporting the Passover celebrations in Munich for displaced persons and US military personnel.

The retelling of the biblical story of the Exodus from Egypt during Passover serves as a powerful metaphor for the Holocaust, and especially, the survivor experience of liberation. These parallels are prominent in the Haggadah's text and illustrations.

Rabbi Klausner spent years serving in the displaced persons camps of Germany, then returned to the United States to lead congregations in Boston and Yonkers.

A facsimile edition of the 1946 Haggadah, now called the Survivors' Haggadah, is still in print today.