Book Launch: Who Betrayed the Jews?
Who Betrayed the Jews? is a groundbreaking study that examines the various ways Jews were betrayed by their fellow countrymen during the Holocaust. In many cases they regarded themselves as a person of their nation first and a Jew second, so persecution came as a terrible shock to them. Many had fought for their country in the First World War, but this offered very little protection – not even for those awarded the Iron Cross. They were forced out of their professions and universities. Their neighbours and school friends betrayed them to the authorities. In turn the authorities ‘legally’ withdrew their rights and also stripped them of their possessions under Aryanization policies. Many who believed themselves to be Christian were affected by the Nazis’ ruthless racial laws and found themselves and their children categorised as ‘half-breeds’. Bodies such as the police and railway companies co-operated with the Nazis in transporting Jews to their deaths or to be subjected to unspeakable medical experiments. The betrayal did not end in 1945 as there is evidence of Holocaust survivors being attacked as they returned home.
Historian Agnes Grunwald-Spier reveals, among other accounts, the story of the slave labourers who toiled for German firms and international companies like Ford; the plight of Jewish Olympians who were murdered; and the dealings of Agatha Christie, Margaret Thatcher and Coco Chanel with the Nazis.
Agnes Grunwald-Spier was born in Budapest in July 1944. After fortune saved her and her mother from deportation to Auschwitz, they were sent to the Budapest ghetto, in November 1944, and they were liberated in January 1945.
A former civil servant, Agnes holds degrees in History & Politics and Holocaust Studies, and she was a founder-trustee of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. She was a member of the Board of Deputies of British Jews for fifteen years, a member of the Architects’ Registration Board and a Justice of the Peace for thirty years. Agnes has three grown up sons and is grandmother to Jamie and Sophie. Her published works include the acclaimed The Other Schindlers (The History Press 2010).
Suitable for
18+
Admission
free but booking essential as space is limited
Website
http://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/Whats-On?item=229
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