Is it possible to empathize fully with the victims of the Holocaust? Can those who approach the Holocaust in the aftermath ever know it in a way that does not trivialize its horror? With what language can we speak of such an event without at the same time betraying its meaning? In this powerful book, Karl Plank takes a hard look at these questions as he explores the boundaries that lie between those outside and those inside the experience of the Holocaust. Mother of the Wire Fence tries to bridge inside and outside as it studies the power of poetry, artifact, memory, and religious symbol to respond to the Holocaust's shattering of human connection.