FREE: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands During the Holocaust

In 1989, historian Elizabeth White received a mysterious manuscript. It told how Jewish mathematician Janina Mehlberg survived the Holocaust in German-occupied Lublin, Poland, by posing as the "Countess Suchodolska," a Polish Christian relief worker. Through face-to-face negotiations with Nazi officials and clandestine work for the resistance, she provided life-saving aid to non-Jewish Polish victims of Nazi persecution in Lublin and to prisoners at Majdanek concentration camp, where 63,000 Jews were killed. To corroborate this astonishing story, White and fellow Holocaust historian Joanna Sliwa conducted research in nine countries. They discovered that Mehlberg accomplished far more than she claimed. This talk will highlight what we can learn from Mehlberg's story about Holocaust history, ethnic relations in extreme situations and humanity in times of crisis.

Elizabeth “Barry” White, PhD, recently retired from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where she served as historian and research director for the USHMM’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide. 

Joanna Sliwa, PhD, is a historian at the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) in New York, where she also administers academic programs. 

This lecture is free.

The Fifty and Better (FAB) program was designed for people ages 50 and older, seeking intellectual stimulation through university-level courses — without the pressure of grades — for the sake of learning and social engagement.

Register

Register by Jan. 17, 3 p.m. PST