Holocaust Survivor Michael Stolowitzky Discusses Gertruda's Oath, April 8

On April 8 the Birmingham Public Library, in collaboration with The Birmingham Jewish Federation, will be hosting a program in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. Michael Stolowitzky, a Polish survivor who now lives in New York, will be sharing his amazing account of his experience during the Holocaust. Michael was just three years old when war broke out and his family lost everything. His father, desperate to settle his business affairs, traveled to France, leaving Michael in the care of his mother and Gertruda Bablinska, a Catholic nanny devoted to the family. When Michael's mother had a stroke, Gertruda promised the dying woman that she would make her way to Palestine and raise him as her own.

In 2007 Israeli author Ram Oren recreated Michael's amazing journey in the book Gertruda's Oath. It is a story that transcends history and religion to reveal the compassion and hope that miraculously thrives in a world immersed in war.

Copies of Gertruda’s Oath will be for sale at the program.

Event: Discussion on Gertruda's Oath
Presenter: Michael Stolowitzky
Place: Central Library, Arrington Auditorium
Date: Monday, April 8
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Cost: Free and open to the public



A clip of Michael Stolowitzky's testimony in the Rescued by Righteous
Among the Nations series.


Links:
The International School for Holocaust Studies' book page for Gertruda's Oath
http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/books/gertrudas_oath.asp

Teacher's Guide
http://www.randomhouse.com/book/124785/gertrudas-oath-by-ram-oren#reader%27sguide

Book trailer featuring Michael Stolowitzky 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llH7tiVFhKs&safe=active