Connecticut Holocaust Survivor & Author Irene Berman To Speak On Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 10 A.M. At Beth El Temple, West Hartford, CT

Supporting The Publication Of Her Book, “We Are Going to Pick Potatoes - Norway and the Holocaust, the Untold Story”, Berman To Recount Her Story About Her Escape To Sweden As A Child

(West Hartford, CT) -- Beth El Temple invites the community to listen to Connecticut Holocaust survivor and author, Irene Berman, on Sunday, April 3, 2011 at 10 a.m., as she recounts her memories as a child survivor and escape from Nazi occupied Norway to Sweden.

Irene Levin Berman was born and raised in Norway. As a young child in 1942, she escaped to Sweden, a neutral country during World War II, to avoid annihilation. Nazi Germany had invaded Norway and the deportation of two thousand Norwegian Jews had begun. Seven members of her father’s immediate family were among the 771 victims who were unable to escape and were murdered in Auschwitz.

"My goal is to help educate my generation and the next as the remaining group of Holocaust survivors is getting increasingly smaller. I think of it as my journey back in time," explained Berman.

"This ‘untold story’ about what happened to Norwegian Jews during the Holocaust deserves to be told - and now it is," wrote Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate & activist.

Several years ago, Berman begin to examine the label of being a Holocaust survivor. Her strong dual identity as a Norwegian and a Jew led her to explore previously unopened doors in her mind. Her book -- "We Are Going to Pick Potatoes, Norway and the Holocaust, The Untold Story" is not a narrative of the Holocaust alone, but the remembrances of growing up Jewish in Norway during and after World War Two. She is a professional translator of Scandinavian languages and has co-translated seven plays by Henrik Ibsen, Norway's renowned playwright. For more information, visit www.norwayandtheholocaust.com.

To attend this event, just RSVP to Harley Graime at (860) 582-9027 or hgraime@att.net. This program is co-sponsored by the Beth El Temple’s Chai Society, Men’s Club, Sisterhood and Religious School.

Beth El Temple is an egalitarian congregation affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The synagogue strives to create, sustain and strengthen Jewish unity and continuity through personal involvement in meaningful worship, ritual, learning and social action. Located at 2626 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut, Beth El Temple is home to worshippers who live throughout central Connecticut. For more information, contact Beth El Temple at (860) 233-9696, visit www.bethelwesthartford.org or the temple's Facebook Fan page.

#    #

For more information: Harley Graime - hgraime@att.net
Marty Melnick - bmwimaging@snet.net
(860) 233-9696

Tags: