Clara Dijkstra

My doctoral research examines the experiences of Jewish and Roma prisoners in French internment camps in Occupied France between 1939 and 1946. I argue that the experiences of Jews and Roma in France have widely been seen as separate, but that it is more useful to see the persecution and internment of both groups as 'entangled'.  Using primarily ego-documents, I analyse the notion of 'camp society', individual versus family experiences, the role of identity and nationality, and communication both within and outside the camps. My research is supervised by Dr Celia Donert and Dr Barbara Warnock. This project builds on my Masters dissertation, in which I addressed the concepts of Jewish identity and self-perception through a micro-historical study of the correspondence of Jewish mothers in the French internment camp of Drancy, 1942-1944, and for which I was awarded a prize for the highest scoring dissertation of my cohort. I completed my MA in Modern European History and my BA in History at St Hugh’s College in Oxford. My research is supported by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP and the J.H. Plumb studentship at Christ’s College, and is conducted as part of the CDA  'The Romani Holocaust and its Aftermath: Gendered Perspectives', in partnership with The Wiener Holocaust Library in London. In 2023 I co-organised the international symposium 'New Directions in the Study of the Romani Genocide', and the international workshop 'Letter-Writing in Holocaust Studies', both held at The Wiener Library.