The Story Behind the Book
In 2006 a center for Holocaust and Genocide education was opened in Oslo, Norway.
In addition the construction of a Jewish Museum in Oslo was initiated. This museum was to be located in a small, now
defunct synagogue that had been an active place of worship in the early part of the twentieth century until the beginning
of the war. I felt that I wanted to be a part of these two events in my city of origin, and began to think how best
I could be of assistance.
www.hlsenteret.no www.jodiskmuseumoslo.no
In April 2006 I sent out a letter to our friends here in the U.S. telling them for the first time about the fate
of the 2,000 Jews of Norway and the specific story of my own family. My parents, brother and I were among the fortunate
persons able to escape to neighboring neutral Sweden. 771 Norwegian Jews were not as fortunate, and were deported to
Auschwitz in 1942. Of my father’s family, 7 members never returned. I explained in the letter that my husband and I intended to give a family gift to the two institutions and asked
if they wished to participate.
Through internet research, I contacted
the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, a faculty of the University of Minnesota and asked them if they would be willing
to serve as a “conduit” for any funds that were received to pass on to Norway to make donations tax deductible,
which I know was the custom in the US. I was extremely fortunate to reach the director of HCCS, Dr. Stephen Feinstein,
who was very responsive and immediately agreed to help us.
http://chgs.umn.edu/news/pdf/newsFallWinter2007.pdf
The reaction to the letter was overwhelming. In addition to our family gift,
we received many letters with donations thanking us for the information as described in the letter, and once again our friends
expressed interest in the subject matter.
Subsequently Dr. Feinstein
suggested the possibility of a conference on this subject, and I contacted the Norwegian consul in Minnesota, Rolf Wiggo Hansen,
who immediately exhibited great interest and offered some funding. Hence the wheels started turning and the idea crystallized.
The conference was sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota and was in part
hosted by the Norwegian Consulate in Minneapolis, Minnesota on April 19 and 20, 2007.
Five distinguished scholars from Norway and Sweden involved in the subject were invited to participate. As
the initiator of the project, I, Irene Berman, was given the title of “catalyst”, and was invited to deliver a
story about my family experience during the war that had been written the previous year. In addition a number of other
scholars participated from the faculty of the University of Minnesota.
A second seminar was held in Duluth, Minnesota the following week.
Soon after a third seminar was held at the American Scandinavian Foundation, at Scandinavia House, in New York, New
York on April 26, 2007.
http://www.amscan.org
The seminars were received with great enthusiasm and interest. Mr. Arnfinn
Moland, the President of Norway’s Resistance Museum in Oslo who was one of the participants, suggested that the entire
seminar be presented in Oslo. This took place in September 2008 and was housed at Akershus Festning, the old and historic
fort outside the harbor of Oslo. Several of the same individuals participated, among them myself.
Before returning to Norway in April, Arnfinn Moland asked me, as the “catalyst”
to participate in the Norwegian seminar and also to consider developing my brief story about my family’s experiences
into a full book, both in Norwegian and English. He made arrangements with a highly respected publishing company in
Oslo to back the publication and the rest is history. The book was published in September 2008 by Orion Publishing Company.
http://www.mil.no/felles/nhm/start/eng/http://www.mil.no/museer/start/article.jhtml?articleID=144607Irene Levin Berman
