This lecture gives a foundation for understanding the complex forces that shaped the Sephardic experience. Sephardic Jewries defined themselves by and organized themselves around their transplantation from Andalusian Iberia. The multiple layers of cultural, linguistic, and socio-political influence they were subjected to formed complicated, transnational communities of Jews.  These attributes took on new meaning in the Holocaust, since families with relatives on opposite sides of new national borders met radically different fates as the countries entered World War II.