MEET THE AUTHOR

Book and Author: Be Happy, Be Free, Dance! A Holocaust Survivor’s Message to His Grandchildren by Richard Weilheimer

When: Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.

Where:
Holocaust Documentation and Education Center
2031 Harrison Street
Hollywood, FL  33020

RSVP: Seating is limited, so please RSVP to Regina Burgess, Librarian, at (954) 929-5690 Ext. 209 or email regina@hdec.org.

This memoir of a child survivor of the Holocaust incorporates intimate letters from his parents incarcerated in the French concentration camp at Gurs. Author Richard Weilheimer effectively communicates the communal and cultural richness of his parents' destroyed German Jewish community. Having become fully integrated into his American identity Richard urges everyone - and most particularly his grandchildren - to live fully, to "Be Happy, Be Free, Dance!"

Born in Ludwigshaven, Germany, in 1931, Richard Weilheimer was seven when he witnessed the arrest of his father along with the destruction of his home and synagogue on Kristallnacht. In 1940, his family was deported to Camp de Gurs in Vichy-controlled France, where his mother subsequently died. Richard and his brother were rescued by the Quakers and brought to America where they were raised by relatives. His father was gassed at Sobibor. Richard served in the Korean War, and was then an executive in the fashion accessory industry. He is married, and has two sons and two grandchildren. Today, he uses his experience to educate people about prejudice and genocide.

You may purchase the book by clicking below (and we will receive a small donation from Amazon - at no extra cost to you!):

It will also be available for purchase after the presentation, when the author will personally inscribe your copy on request.

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