Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr. Daniel Kupfert Heller is the Kronhill Senior Lecturer in East European Jewish History at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation. His areas of research specialization are East European Jewish history, the history of humanitarian aid and international development, and the history of Zionism and modern Israel.
Daniel received his PhD in 2012 from Stanford University, where he was awarded the annual prize for best written dissertation in the History Department. Before arriving at Monash, he was an assistant professor at McGill University, where he received the 2016 H. Noel Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching, awarded annually to one professor in McGill University’s Faculty of Arts. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Principal’s Prize for Excellence in Teaching, awarded annually to one assistant professor across all faculties in McGill University.
Daniel’s first book, Jabotinsky’s Children: Polish Jews and the Rise of Right-Wing Zionism, appeared in August 2017 with Princeton University Press. Drawing upon original research in Polish, Israeli and American archives, the book explores the decisive influence of Polish Jews and Polish politics on right-wing Zionist attitudes towards democracy and approaches to the use of force. Recovering the voices of ordinary Polish Jewish youth through their letters, diaries and autobiographies, the study also paints a vivid portrait of their turbulent lives on the eve of the Holocaust. Jabotinsky’s Children was the recipient of Association for Jewish Studies' Jordan Schnitzer Award in the category of Modern Jewish History and Culture: Europe and Israel.
Following Jabotinsky’s Children, Daniel worked on a research project exploring the politics of Israeli aid programs for women in sub-Saharan Africa during the Cold War era. His findings were published in Jewish Social Studies and History Australia.
Daniel is currently the lead investigator for an interdisciplinary study exploring the impact of gender on the resilience and adaptation strategies of Holocaust survivors in the aftermath of the Second World War. He is also working on his second book project, which examines Holocaust survivor psychologists, psychiatrists and other health care professionals who made it their life mission to help fellow survivors heal from trauma and move forward with their lives.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- East European Jewish History
- History of Zionism and the State of Israel
- History of Humanitarian Aid and International Development
-
Encounters with Poland: Fostering a deeper intercultural understanding
3/01/23 → 30/10/23
Project: Research
-
The Kronhill Program for European Jewish Experience
Margolis, R., Slucki, D., Wolski, N., Heller, D., Doron, D., Shenker, N. & Michaels, P.
12/07/21 → 12/07/26
Project: Research
-
Benjamin Slome research fund
Margolis, R., Slucki, D., Wolski, N., Shenker, N., Doron, D., Heller, D., Forgasz, R. & Margolis, R.
19/08/20 → 19/08/25
Project: Research
-
Kerryn Baker Memorial Endowment for Gender Research
Margolis, R., Forgasz, R., Slucki, D., Wolski, N., Doron, D., Shenker, N. & Heller, D.
10/08/20 → 31/08/23
Project: Research
-
הסיוע הישראלי ו״האישה האפריקאית״: הפוליטיקה המגדרית של פיתוח בין-לאומי, 1958-1973
Heller, D., 2023, לבטים פוסקולוניאליים: עיונים בתולדות יחסי ישראל ומדינות אפריקה. Schler, L. & Dubinsky, I. (eds.). Haifa Israel : Pardes Press, p. 153-181 29 p.Translated title of the contribution :Israeli aid and African Women: The gendered politics of international development Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Other
-
Gender, development and the Arab-Israeli conflict: the politics of study tours for women from the Global South in the State of Israel, 1958–1973
Heller, D., 2020, In: History Australia. 17, 4, p. 678-694 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1 Citation (Scopus) -
Israeli Aid and the 'African Woman': The Gendered Politics of International Development, 1958-1973
Heller, D., 2020, In: Jewish Social Studies. 25, 2, p. 49-78 30 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
-
Book Review: Paul Brykczynski, Primed For Violence: Murder, Antisemitism and Democratic Politics in Interwar Poland
Heller, D., Oct 2019, In: Antisemitism Studies . 3, 2, p. 395-399 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Short Review › Other
Open Access -
The gendered politics of public health: Jewish nurses and the American joint distribution committee in interwar Poland
Heller, D. K., 1 Aug 2018, In: Jewish History. 31, 3-4, p. 319-352 34 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
-
Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Scholarship
Heller, Daniel (Recipient), 14 Oct 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
H. Noel Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching, McGill University
Heller, Daniel (Recipient), 1 Apr 2017
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Internal Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Development Grant
Heller, Daniel (Recipient), 28 Mar 2016
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
J.I. Segal English Non-fiction Award on a Jewish Theme, Jewish Public Library
Heller, Daniel (Recipient), 14 Nov 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
-
Jordan Schnitzer Book Award in Modern Jewish History and Culture: Europe and Israel, Association for Jewish Studies
Heller, Daniel (Recipient), 16 Dec 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 11 Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
Mental Health in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Survivors in Europe’s Displaced Persons Camps
Daniel Heller (Contributor)
17 Aug 2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
Understanding the War in Ukraine and What Led to It
Paula Michaels (Contributor) & Daniel Heller (Contributor)
2022Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
Ancient Jewish Responses to Pandemics
Daniel Heller (Contributor)
16 May 2021Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
Jewish Women in Poland on the Eve of the Holocaust
Daniel Heller (Contributor)
14 Jun 2020Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar
-
“The Holocaust and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: The Use and Abuse of History”
Daniel Heller (Contributor)
27 Jul 2020Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Public lecture/debate/seminar