Dr. Elkhanan Elkes of the Kovno Ghetto: A Son's Holocaust Memoir

Written by Joel Elkes about his father, Dr. Elkhanan Elkes, this memoir is a moving tribute to an extraordinary community and extraordinary leader during the horrors of the Holocaust.  The Ghetto Kovno was one of the very few ghettos to be headed by a Council elected by the Jewish community, rather than one appointed by the Germans.  In the face of relentless, murderous pressure, this Council attempted to maintain a civic structure and, by whatever means possible, save Jewish lives.  Despite terrible odds, it partially succeeded.

The author, Dr. Joel Elkes, is a Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University, and Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, University of Louisville. From 1963 to 1975, Dr. Elkes served as Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins and was the Psychiatrist-in-Chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.