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A Real Pain is a film starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Kulkin as two American Jewish cousins who take a trip to Poland to visit the childhood home of their grandmother. In this episode of On the Nose, editor-in-chief Arielle Angel, contributing editor Maia Ipp, and author Menachem Kaiser—all of whom are grandchildren of Holocaust survivors—dissect the movie's depiction of millennial neuroses, its relationship to other Holocaust films, and its grappling with the question of how to make meaning out of inherited memory. Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Texts Mentioned and Further Resources:“Selling the Holocaust,” Arielle Angel, Menachem Kaiser, and Maia Ipp, Jewish Currents“(Re)Writing Remembrance,” Arielle Angel and Maia Ipp, Jewish CurrentsPlunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure, Menachem Kaiser“If I were a Zionist, I'd be Z: How Generations of Jews have Abandoned their Children to Face the Reckoning Alone,” Natasha Gill, SubstackBetween the Temples
Rozpoczęliśmy od zupek chińskich (instant), podróży furmanką i zagubionego, cudem odnalezionego krawata. W ramach nowinek jeden z nas opowiadał o modernizowanej niezbyt szczęśliwie starówce pewnego dolnośląskiego miasta, drugi zaś wspomniał o licytacji pałacu, do której – na szczęście – nie doszło. W sekcji lektur jeden z nas opowiadało książce poświęconej konfliktom w łonie dynastii Arpadów, Przemyślidów i Piastów, przedstawiał książki promujące pewne miasto dolnośląskie oraz opowiadał o niemal dobrym filmie historycznym. Drugi z nas opowiadał o zderzeniu przeszłości i teraźniejszości potomków ofiar II wojny światowej, o reportażu dotyczącym słabo znanej działalności właściciela zakładów produkujących aparaty Leica w okresie nazistowskim. Nie obeszło się bez wspomnienia siostrzanego podkastu, tym razem w kontekście wymarzonej matury z historii. To pomogło nam przejść do głównego tematu naszego spotkania, to jest wymarzonego biegu studiów historycznych. Świat zmienia się szybko, studia też, ale jakby w inną stronę. Zastanawiamy się, co mogłoby sprawić, by studenci chcieli uczęszczać na zajęcia z zakresu historii? Czy mają one nadal służyć wtłaczaniu encyklopedycznej wiedzy? Jaką rolę powinno pełnić przedstawianie własnych badań i włączanie studentów w ich przebieg? W końcu – przyszłość historii to nasi współcześni studenci. Ramówka: - Rozgrzewka:)) - Nowinki / starowinki - 4:33 - Lektury - 22:19 - Temat przewodni -51:07 Pełny tekst opisu zamieściliśmy na stronie internetowej naszego projektu: https://shrtm.nu/cmd Wymienione w czasie audycji publikacje i materiały: - Legnica z nią zawsze po drodze, Legnica 2023, https://shrtm.nu/clP (ostatni dostęp: 24.05.2023) - Legnica w grafikach Grzegorza Fijałkowskiego, Legnica 2020 (ostatni dostęp: https://shrtm.nu/clQ) - Daniel Bagi, Divisio Regni. The territorial divisions, power struggles, and dynastic historiography of the Árpáds of 11th- and early 12th-century Hungary, with comparative studies of the Piasts of Poland and the Přemyslids of Bohemia. Arpadiana, vol. 2, Budapest: Research Centre for the Humanities, 2020, https://shrtm.nu/cmb (ostatni dostęp: 24.05.2023). - Film: Mistrz, reżyser Marcin Barczewski, pol.-niem., 2020 (ostatni dostęp: 24.05.2023) - Menachem Kaiser, Grabież. Historia majątku rodzinnego i nazistowskiego skarbu, Warszawa 2023, https://shrtm.nu/clN (ostatni dostęp: 24.05.2023) - Film: Naziści, rabin i kamera / Die Nazis, der Rabbi und die Kamera (z polskimi podpisami), https://shrtm.nu/clL (ostatni dostęp: 24.05.2023) - Podcast: Jak powinna wyglądać nasza wymarzona matura?, Podcasterix, https://shrtm.nu/clM (ostatni dostęp: 24.05.2023) Krzysztof Ruchniewicz Blog: www.krzysztofruchniewicz.eu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/krzysztof.ruchniewicz.3 Instagram: www.instagram.com/ruchpho/ Twitter: twitter.com/krzyruch YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCT23Rwyk…iew_as=subscriber Przemysław Wiszewski Blog: www.przemysławwiszewski.pl Facebook: www.facebook.com/przemyslaw.wiszewski Instagram: www.instagram.com/przewisz/ Twitter: twitter.com/wiszewski YuoTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCuq6q08E…iew_as=subscriber Do nagrania intro i outro wykorzystaliśmy utwór RogerThat'a pt. „Retro 70s Metal” (licencja nr JAM-WEB-2020-0010041).
Cover photo of Menachem Kaiser by Beowulf Sheehan.To learn more, please visit the website for Menacham Kaiser and Plunder.Show Notes:2:00 genesis of Plunder: A Memoir of family property and Nazi treasure4:00 the memoir by Abraham Kajser6:45 Kajser's experience as a forced laborer during WWII in underground camp structures in Poland that were given the code name Project Riese 7:30 Polish version and Hebrew version of Kajser's memoir8:45 political decisions in what stories are given attention10:30 the writer's mandate to create work that's honest11:20 he went on a Fulbright to Lithuania11:50 his unexpected research on the Vilna Ghetto12:30 lessons missed in Holocaust education13:00 his revelation of how morally and historically complicated and interesting the Holocaust is14:00 Jews' self-governance in ghettos included trials and hangings15:00 How the ‘politics memory' differs in countries like Lithuania and Poland17:00 The arc of his thoughts on the moral and ethical questions raised by his inheritance claim for his grandfather's building21:00 status of his inheritance claim for his grandfather's building22:00 move by mayor of Sosnowiec to claim his grandfather's building25:30 Nationalist shift in Poland, resulting in failed/dismissed property claims27:00 response to Plunder in Poland28:30 KARTA publisher of Plunder in Poland 30:00 the challenges he dealt with in researching the book 31:50 research into forced displacement of Germans after WWII34:30 myth-soaked Silesia became a character in the book36:30 archive from Vilnius, Lithuania38:00 David Fishman's The Book Smugglers40:00 value of archives in digitized form versus physical form41:00 Vilnius archive re-surfaced in the late 1980s/early 1990s 43:00 arts programs in the Vilna ghetto during WWII43:30 Artist Samuel Bak44:00 Poet Abraham Sutzkever44:15 Protest songs by poet, musician, writer and activist Szmerke Kaczerginski44:40 civil war rumblings in Vilna ghetto46:50 Jacob Gens, head of the Vilna ghetto government47:45 death of Itzik Wittenberg, Hero of the Vilna Ghetto / leader of the Resistance49:30 anti-Semitism in Poland50:30 his thoughts on how the justice system is designed to frustrate efforts 52:15 his thoughts on how his legacy is being shaped as a writer57:00 his current project related to an ongoing story in Montreal that involves allegations of hiding 4B in Nazi gold.To view rewards for supporting the podcast, please visit Warfare's Patreon page.To leave questions or comments about this or other episodes of the podcast, please call 1.929.260.4942 or email Stephanie@warfareofartandlaw.com. © Stephanie Drawdy [2022]
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law
Menachem Kaiser's book Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure (Mariner Books, 2021) is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as "The Killer." A surprise discovery--that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex--leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance--material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
To learn more, please visit the website for Ms. Sliwa.Show Notes:2:45 inspiration for her career as a historian of the Holocaust and Polish Jewish history4:30 American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)6:50 Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (the Claims Conference)8:00 Claims Conference's work on behalf of elderly survivors10:00 current issues blocking claims that she's encountered and how they differ between countries12:00 history of the plunder and anti-restitution approach/laws in Poland16:00 definition of who is a survivor for restitution purposes, e.g., exclusion of Jews who were in hiding during WWII from receiving pensions17:45 lack of understanding and education about the gravity of the theft and restitution issues from WWII19:00 claims like Menachem Kaiser 20:20 attitudes and behaviors towards Holocaust survivors and why claims are still ongoing23:00 heirless property24:00 JUST Act report's findings on Poland about archives 26:00 It Is Still Night authors Historian Jan Grabowski and Professor Barbara Engelking30:00 pursuit of the ‘Politics of Memory' by the current government in Poland, Law and Justice as a distortion of Holocaust history35:00 example of how Holocaust history is distorted: Poland's commemoration of a Polish railway worker who is said to have given water to Jews in boxcars en route to Treblinka versus acknowledging Poles who robbed Jews in boxcars in exchange for water41:00 Jewish Childhood in Kraków: A Microhistory of the Holocaust43:45 historical drama film Schindler's List45:45 Children With a Star: Jewish Youth in Nazi Europe by Deborah Dwork47:00 Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Mathematician Who Rescued Poles during the Holocaust co-authored with Dr. Elizabeth (Barry) White, expert on Majdanek Concentration Camp52:00 genealogy methods supplemented research for Counterfeit Countess56:15 The Beginning of the Holocaust in Poland 1939-1941? Other upcoming projects?59:15 how Dr. Sliwa defines justice and how she sees her work facilitating justice 1:30:00 Dr. Sliwa's hope for her legacy: to educate and inspire future scholars of all genocideTo view rewards for supporting the podcast, please visit Warfare's Patreon page.To leave questions or comments about this or other episodes of the podcast, please call 1.929.260.4942 or email Stephanie@warfareofartandlaw.com. © Stephanie Drawdy [2022]
A few years ago, Menachem Kaiser went to Poland to uncover his family history. All he knew was that his grandfather survived the Holocaust but the rest of his relatives were killed. In search of his family's lost home, Menachem met a group of treasure hunters who led him to a secret diary and the story of the Nazi's mysterious underground city, Project Riese. Menachem Kaiser's book is called Plunder: A memoir of family property and stolen Nazi treasure. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam Maruf The excerpts from Abraham Kajzer's book are read by Martin Esposito Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com (Photo: One of the underground tunnels in Project Riese. Credit: Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images)
A few years ago, Menachem Kaiser went to Poland to uncover his family history. All he knew was that his grandfather survived the Holocaust but the rest of his relatives were killed. In search of his family's lost home, Menachem met a group of treasure hunters who led him to a secret diary and the story of the Nazi's mysterious underground city, Project Riese. Menachem Kaiser's book is called Plunder: A memoir of family property and stolen Nazi treasure. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Maryam Maruf Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com (Photo: One of the underground tunnels in Project Riese. Credit: Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images)
This week on Unorthodox, we're observing Tisha B'Av, the Jewish day of mourning, and Tu B'Av, the Jewish Valentine's Day, all at once. First we hear from Menachem Kaiser, author of “Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure,” his story of attempting to reclaim an apartment building in Sosnowice, Poland that his family owned before the Holocaust, and his unlikely discovery of a familial connection to... Nazi treasure hunters. Then we talk to NFL reporter Jori Epstein and Holocaust survivor Max Glauben about collaborating to write “The Upstander,” a book that tells the story of Max's life and the lessons he wants to share. And finally, in honor of Tu B'Av, the Jewish Valentine's Day, we check in with Unorthodox listeners Sabrina and Brian Cartan, who ran into Jeff Goldblum while taking their wedding photos this weekend. Send us your stories for our upcoming special episodes. Were you or someone you know a Jewish scout? Do you have stories of apologies given or owed, for our annual Yom Kippur Apology episode? Leave us a voicemail (under a minute long) at (914) 570-4869, or record a voice memo on your phone and email it to unorthodox@tabletmag.com to be featured on the episode. Like the show? Rate us on iTunes! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get new episodes, photos, and more. Join our Facebook group, and follow Unorthodox on Twitter and Instagram. Get a behind-the-scenes look at our recording sessions on our YouTube channel! Get your Unorthodox T-shirts, mugs, and baby onesies at bit.ly/unorthoshirt. Want to book us for a live show? Email producer Josh Kross at jkross@tabletmag.com. Check out all of Tablet's podcasts at tabletmag.com/podcasts. Sponsors: AJWS supports activists working with vulnerable communities around the globe throughout the ongoing pandemic. Make your twice-matched, tax-deductible donation today at AJWS.org/unorthodox. Harry's is a great shave at a great price. New customers can get a Starter Set for just $3 at harrys.com/unorthodox. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What strange and unexpected paths might one author take delving into his family's history? Menachem Kaiser--author of Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure, a New York Times Editor's Choice and People Magazine Best New Book of 2021--shares with Eve and Julie how his attempts to reclaim a building that had belonged to his grandfather before World War II led to unexpected discoveries. They discuss how, during his time in Poland, Menachem developed a greater awareness of the moral justifications for, and ramifications of, reparations; what it was like being embraced by Nazi treasure hunters whose ambitions resonated oddly with his own; and how the celebrated myth of his grandfather's cousin--a Holocaust survivor whose diary of his time building underground Nazi tunnels made him a folk hero in Poland--endures while the memory of the man himself fades. Find us on Twitter (@bookdreamspod) and Instagram (@bookdreamspodcast), or email us at contact@bookdreamspodcast.com. Book Dreams is a member of the Podglomerate Network and Lit Hub Radio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Another funny and interesting one folks! This week we are joined by Sheva's brother, Menachem Kaiser whose is not only an author, but mensch who happens to also be single. Menachem gives us a look at what happened in the Beit Din, the rabbinical court that his sister needed to engage with in order to get divorced in the Jewish tradition. The Beit Din is what provides very Traditional Jews guidance and decisions regarding complex issues. A Beit Din can be put together for another number of reasons: validating a conversion to Judaism, educating on common religious laws between people, and of course, dissolving marriages and arranging a Gett- the Jewish divorce document. But in this episode, not only do we get a close look at how a very Orthodox Beit Din operates, but we also get some great laughs and intriguing conversation about dating, sex, and possible new topics to come. This part got so interesting we request for people to share text message flirtations with potential dates and mates for dramatic reading. If you have an example of a text conversation you don't mind sharing anonymously, send it in to us at TheJewishDivorceProject.com
From a gifted young writer, the story of his quest to reclaim his family’s apartment building in Poland—and of the astonishing entanglement with Nazi treasure hunters that follows. Menachem Kaiser’s brilliantly told story, woven from improbable events and profound revelations, is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather’s former battle to reclaim the family’s apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as “The Killer.” A surprise discovery—that his grandfather’s cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex—leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance—material, spiritual, familial, and emotional. HOST: Rob MellonFEATURED BREW: She'Brew RBG Milkshake IPA, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Troy, New YorkBOOK: Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasurehttps://www.amazon.com/Plunder-Memoir-Family-Property-Treasure/dp/132850803XMUSIC: Bones Forkhttps://bonesfork.com/
4/08/2021 Interview with author Menachem Kaiser to discuss his book, Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure. Menachem Kaiser's brilliantly told story, woven from improbable events and profound revelations, is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as “The Killer.” A surprise discovery—that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex—leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance—material, spiritual, familial, and emotional.
4/08/2021 Interview with author Menachem Kaiser to discuss his book, Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure. Menachem Kaiser's brilliantly told story, woven from improbable events and profound revelations, is set in motion when the author takes up his Holocaust-survivor grandfather's former battle to reclaim the family's apartment building in Sosnowiec, Poland. Soon, he is on a circuitous path to encounters with the long-time residents of the building, and with a Polish lawyer known as “The Killer.” A surprise discovery—that his grandfather's cousin not only survived the war, but wrote a secret memoir while a slave laborer in a vast, secret Nazi tunnel complex—leads to Kaiser being adopted as a virtual celebrity by a band of Silesian treasure seekers who revere the memoir as the indispensable guidebook to Nazi plunder. Propelled by rich original research, Kaiser immerses readers in profound questions that reach far beyond his personal quest. What does it mean to seize your own legacy? Can reclaimed property repair rifts among the living? Plunder is both a deeply immersive adventure story and an irreverent, daring interrogation of inheritance—material, spiritual, familial, and emotional.
https://www.alainguillot.com/menachem-kaiser/ Menachem Kaiser shares the story of his quest to reclaim his family’s apartment building in Poland—and of the astonishing entanglement with Nazi treasure hunters that follows. His book is Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure. Get your book right here: https://amzn.to/3dEOzJY