BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1572@tign.org DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260126T201500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260126T201500 DTSTAMP:20260109T154817Z URL:https://www.tign.org/events/shoah-remembrance-committee-holocaust-book -club-discussion-11/ SUMMARY:Shoah Remembrance Committee Holocaust Book Club Discussion DESCRIPTION:Join the Shoah Remembrance Committee's Holocaust Book Club for their next book discussion - \;Saints and Liars by Deborah Dwork\n\nMo nday\, January 26th\n8:15 p.m.\nBlue Room and on TIGN Zoom\n\nA gripping h istory that plumbs the extraordinary stories of American relief and rescue workers during World War II. "Long before their country officially joined the war\, American aid workers were active in rescue efforts across Europ e. Two such Americans were Martha and Waitstill Sharp\, who were originall y sent to Prague as part of a relief effort but turned immediately to help ing Jews and dissidents after the 1939 invasion by Germany. They were not the only ones. Renowned historian Debórah Dwork follows the story of resc ue workers in five major cities as the refugee crisis expanded to Vilna\, Shanghai\, Marseille\, and Lisbon. Followed by Nazi agents\, spiriting peo ple across borders\, they learned secrecy. Others negotiated with governme nt representatives\, like Laura Margolis\, who worked with the Japanese\, to get enough food and warm shelter for the refugees in Shanghai. Yet\, th e women also often faced lack of support from their agencies\; if part of a couple\, they fought to get paid even at a low salary despite working as long and hard as their husbands. Moving and revelatory\, Saints and Liars illuminates the unpredictable circumstances and often fast-changing histo rical events with which these aid workers contended\, while revealing the moral questions they encountered and the devastating decisions they had to make. Drawing on a multitude of archival documents\, from letters to diar ies and memos\, Dwork offers us a rare glimpse into the lives of individua ls who--at times with their organizations' backing\, but sometimes against their directives--sought to help people find safe haven from persecution. " -- Before the United States officially entered the war\, American aid wo rkers were already involved in rescue operations across Europe. Among them were Martha and Waitstill Sharp\, who were initially sent to Prague for a relief mission but shifted their focus to helping Jews and dissidents fol lowing Germany's invasion in 1939. They were part of a larger group of ind ividuals working in various European cities. Historian Debórah Dwork exam ines the efforts of rescue workers in cities like Vilna\, Shanghai\, Marse ille\, and Lisbon\, as the refugee crisis grew. These workers\, often purs ued by Nazi agents\, used secrecy to move people across borders. Some\, li ke Laura Margolis\, negotiated with government officials to secure food an d shelter for refugees\, as she did in Shanghai with Japanese authorities. Women in these efforts also faced challenges such as limited support from their organizations and struggles over pay\, particularly if they were pa rt of a couple\, despite working long hours like their male counterparts. In Saints and Liars\, Dwork explores the complex and ever-changing circums tances these aid workers navigated. Through archival materials such as let ters\, diaries\, and memos\, the book provides insight into the moral dile mmas and tough choices they faced while trying to help people escape perse cution.\n\nPlease RSVP to Carol Smolinsky at smohome6@aol.com and let us k now if you’ll be joining us in person or via zoom and if you need help g etting a book.\n\nUpcoming book discussions on Mondays at 8:15 p.m.\n\nMar ch 9 - The Sisterhood of Ravensbrück: How an Intrepid Band of Frenchwomen Resisted the Nazis in Hitler's All-Female Concentration Camp by Lynne Ols on\n\nApril 20 - Jazz Survivor the Story of Louis Bannet and Dawn by Elie Wiesel ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.tign.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ Shoah-Book-Discussion_Saints-and-Liars-by-Deborah-Dwork__2026-hero-image.p ng END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20251102T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR