Families and the Social Infrastructure of War: From Palestine to North Africa and Back Again, 1942–1944

This paper looks at careers, families, and households as a way to explore the relationship between two forms of movement—physical social. Privileging account family over more traditional androcentric historical narrative, it utilizes correspondence one Zionist-Yishuvi family, Muchniks, during World War II. The analysis points Muchniks’ adoption coherent strategy, that attempted harness extensive wartime profits flowed Zionist Yishuv this period attain lasting upward mobility for family. By adopting split household pattern, article argues, Muchnik strategy consisted interdependent cogwheels physical movement. In first, Rosa children dissolved all semblance nuclear instead constantly moved their extended family’s farmsteads in agricultural settlement Nahalal. second, Pinchas was temporarily freed from obligations family-man joined ranks first generation region-trotting lower class Yishuvi men soldier British army. Together, these empowered climb up social ladder.