April 16, 2008

Pickus to read and sign new book at Watermark

Keith Pickus, associate provost, will read from and sign copies of his new book, "Our Only Hope: Eddie's Holocaust Story and the Weisz Family Correspondence" at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 17, at Watermark Books and Cafe, 4701 E. Douglas. "Our Only Hope" is based on correspondence between a German emigre to the United States and his family members who remained in Berlin and Prague. Pickus recently was appointed as a member of the State Holocaust Commission by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Pickus is an associate professor of German and Jewish history who has also published "Constructing Modern Identities: Jewish University Students in Germany, 1815-1914," essays on Jewish identity, and a series of articles on Jewish and Catholic communities in 19th century Germany.

Like many German Jewish families, Eddie's parents sent their eldest child to America hoping he could pave the way for the rest of the family to follow. The story is a deeply personal account of how the Nazi phenomenon affected a single family. It gives voice to victims of the Holocaust, people whose experiences are typically told through the eyes of survivors and perpetrators. Through this narrative, Our Only Hope illuminates an ironic and tragic dualism: the steady deterioration of life's circumstances for the Weisz family that is left behind, countered by the transformation of Eddie Weisz into an independent adult and American citizen.