Survivors' Talmud

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The Survivors' Talmud refers to an edition of the Talmud, also known as the U.S. Army Talmud published in 1951 in the American sector of Germany and dedicated to the "United States Army for having played a major role in the rescue of the Jewish people from total annihilation, and after the defeat of Hitler bore the major burden of sustaining the DPs of the Jewish faith." The work was published within the context of the "surviving remnant" (Sh'erit ha-Pletah) of Jews in post-Holocaust Europe.

The edition was conceived through an agreement between the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee ("the Joint") and the Vaad Hatzalah's Rabbinical Council U.S. Zone Germany to publish a 17-volume edition of the Talmud, financed by the Joint and German authorities. It was to be distributed in Germany, Palestine, and the United States. Rabbi Samuel Snieg became the champion of the project, which was completed later than expected due to shortage of paper, typeset, and other supplies in Germany. As a result, very little of the work benefited the displaced persons directly.

Printed in an extremely limited edition, the Talmud is now a collector's item.