Events Calendar

Loading Events

Amram Scholar Series Presents: Gwen Strauss

The Nine: The True Story of a Band of Women who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany

Sunday October 24, 2021 @ 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Temple

  • This event has passed.

WHC welcomes acclaimed author Gwen Strauss to discuss her book which follows the true story of Helene Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German labor camp. Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times.

About the Book:

The Nine follows the true story of the author’s great aunt Hélène Podliasky, who led a band of nine female resistance fighters as they escaped a German forced labor camp and made a ten-day jour­ney across the front lines of WWII from Ger­many back to Paris.

The nine women were all under thir­ty when they joined the resistance. They smuggled arms through Europe, harbored parachuting agents, coordinated communications between regional sectors, trekked escape routes to Spain and hid Jewish children in scattered apartments. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo. They were subjected to a series of French prisons and deported to Germany. The group formed along the way, meeting at different points, in prison, in transit, and at Ravensbrück. By the time they were enslaved at the labor camp in Leipzig, they were a close-knit group of friends. During the final days of the war, forced onto a death march, the nine chose their moment and made a daring escape.

Drawing on incredible research, this powerful, heart-stopping narrative is a moving tribute to the power of humanity and friendship in the darkest of times.

 RSVP HERE

Click here to purchase this book through WHC’s Mitzvah Mall

About the Author:

Gwen Strauss’ poems, short sto­ries, and essays have appeared in numerous journals including The New RepublicLondon Sunday TimesNew England Review, and Kenyon Review and she has published a collection of poetry, Trail of Stones. She was born and spent her early years in Haiti. Strauss lives in Southern France, where she is the Director of the artist’s residency program at the Dora Maar House.

Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Council


The health and safety of our community continue to be WHC’s top priority. This program is subject to additional COVID-19 safety protocols. To learn more about WHC’s reopening plans following the COVID-19 pandemic, please click here.

Details

Date:

Sunday, October 24

Time:

10:30 am - 12:00 pm

Venue

Temple

Tags

Adult Ed, Amram, Lecture