UNC Asheville's Center for Jewish Studies to Host Talk by Holocaust Survivor

The Center for Jewish Studies at UNC Asheville will host a talk by Holocaust survivor and noted memoirist Louis De Wijze on his book, “Only My Life: A Survivor’s Story,” at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, in UNC Asheville’s Laurel Forum, Karpen Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

De Wijze will recount his experiences as a Dutch Jew who in 1944 was forcibly transported to the labor camp Monowitz, a “special unit” outside of Auschwitz. Put to work in a synthetic oil and rubber factory, De Wijze faced hunger, bitter cold and brutality, but also managed to keep his morale up by joining the camp’s soccer team and cabaret theatre group, smuggling vodka and trading tobacco for bread and soup. He will recount his near-fatal experience on a death march ending at Buchenwald concentration camp, as well as his many attempts at escape and eventual rescue by American troops.

For more information, call UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies at 828/251-6576.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. Rick Chess, UNC Asheville Center for Jewish Studies director, 828/251-6576

• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526