BOOK PRESENTATION: THE EYE AND OTHER TALES: A HISTORY OF JEWISH FAMILY SURVIVAL

On Wednesday, February 12 from 1:00-2:00pm, we welcome author Andrew Fischer to tell us stories from his book. This is a story of survivors. Jan Fischer survived Stalin’s labor camps because he recognized the Jewish prayer: the Shema. Lidia Szylberstajn evaded the Nazi death camps that claimed most of her family only to survive two years in Siberia, before meeting Jan intwo years in Siberia, before meeting Jan in Egypt. This is the story of Lidia’s cousin Zlata, who later became Solange, the only one in the Szylberstajn family to survive the Nazi death camps. This is the story of Adolphe Szylberstajn, who survived to fight in the French underground, as the liaison between the resistance to Archbishop Raymond, later Cardinal Raymond, to become the celebrated orchestra conductor Adolphe Sibert. This is the story of Solange’s son, Maurice, at the barricades in the summer of 1968 and at many other revolutionary frontlines, as a journalist and activist, and of Solange’s son, Charles, a journalist, author and film director, who filmed his mother’s story as a holocaust survivor and filmed the music and art of Haiti, only to film the fall of Haitian democracy. This is the story of the survival of Jewish life over 175 years in Europe. Author Andrew Fischer has been a writer and journalist for over 50 years. His work has been widely published. A practicing attorney for over 40 years, he has long been interested in holocaust studies as well as his own family’s stories. The Eye and Other Tales began with notebooks he complied of interviews with his father and other family members. Andrew will be bringing copies of the book to the event for purchase.

Please register at 617-730-2770.