Category: Holocaust to Resistance – Book Launch

by Sophie Leclanché in ‘La Montagne’

Below is an article reports on Suzanne Berliner Weiss’s discussions in 2017 with high-school students in Clermont-Ferrand, capital of the French region of Auvergne. For a fuller account of her visit and discussions, see Chapter 31 of her book ‘Holocaust to Resistance: My Journey’ (pp. 285-295). The book can be purchase from Fernwood Publishers. The text by Sophie Leclanché is translated from French by John Riddell.

Suzanne Berliner Weiss came to Auvergne to speak of all those who protected her when she was a young Jewish child and to thank them collectively.

Her repeated visits to Auvergne do not aim merely at identifying names and locations. It’s also to say “thanks”. Thanks to the people of Auvergne as a whole and also in particular to those who enabled her to survive and flourish. Suzanne was a hidden Jewish child somewhere in France, probably in Auvergne. Suzanne will recount what she has experienced to high-school and college students in Clermont-Ferrand.

Her aim lies not so much in revealing facts buried in her memory but in underlining the importance of “acting in the same spirit as the Auvergnats.” As a survivor, she identifies these essential qualities as “solidarity, generosity and love,” speaking in a French that sparkles more than it hesitates. Cautious and respectful, Suzanne does not presume to talk of French politics. But as a left-wing activist, she stresses the need, everywhere and always, to “address the challenges that we face.”

Continue reading Suzanne Weiss speaks with high-school students in Clermont-Ferrand, France

Here is the video of my talk at the October 18 launch of my book, Holocaust to Resistance: My Journey, before an unexpectedly large and very appreciative audience of about 140. It was a mix of activists in the social struggles over the years, as outlined in the book, and personal friends including neighbors and their children, hearing provider and assistant, pharmacist and husband, my hair dresser and friend, personal trainer and friend, physio-therapist, and various personal friends uninvolved in political activities. My son, Jonathan, was also present, as well as my longtime friend, Laurie who traveled from Texas.

If you are in a group or organization that would like a presentation by Suzanne Berliner Weiss, please get in touch with me through Suzanne Weiss on Facebook. I look forward to hearing from you.

Here the 24-minute video of my talk.

Continue reading VIDEO: Holocaust to Resistance Book Launch!

BOOK LAUNCH:
Friday October 18, 7 PM
Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto
Childcare available on request.

Check out my video introduction.
Order now from Fernwood Publishers. 

“Suzanne Weiss exemplifies what it looks like to dedicate one’s life, post-Holocaust, to the mandate of ‘Never Again’ – for anyone. Her fascinating life story is sure to inspire many generations of activists.”

— Corey Balsam, National Coordinator, Independent Jewish Voices Canada

Publisher’s Description

Holocaust to Resistance, My Journey is a powerful, awe-inspiring memoir from author and activist Suzanne Berliner Weiss. Born to Jewish parents in Paris in 1941, Suzanne was hidden from the Nazis on a farm in rural France. Alone after the war, she lived in progressive-run orphanages, where she gained a belief in peace and brotherhood. Adoption by a New York family led to a tumultuous youth haunted by domestic conflict, fear of nuclear war and anti-communist repression, consignment to a detention home and magical steps toward relinking with her origins in Europe.

At age seventeen, Suzanne became a lifelong social activist, engaged in student radicalization, the Cuban Revolution, and movements for Black Power, women’s liberation, peace in Vietnam, freedom for Palestine, and Indigenous rights. Now nearing eighty, Suzanne tells how the ties of friendship, solidarity and resistance that saved her as a child speak to the needs of our planet today.

Order now from Fernwood Publishers. Available October 1, 2019.