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Irene
Hofstein
"I was born in Berlin, Germany in 1921, and lived
for six years in Nazi Berlin before coming to the United States in 1939.
I graduated from a private school in Berlin and, after coming to Boston,
found work in a wholesale greeting card firm until my first daughter was
born in 1943, when I stopped working for a number of years, raising my
two daughters, the second one born in 1947. I eventually went to work
full time, managing an orthopedic surgeon's office for more than 25 years.
During that time I took adult education courses, as well as some Harvard
Extension courses.
I began writing many, many years ago, starting with
"Letters to the Editor," voicing my concern about political and social
causes. Many of them were printed in various newspapers.
I started writing more seriously when my youngest
granddaughter asked me about 13 years ago to tell her something about
the way we lived in Germany. That prompted me to write "A Grandmother's
Chronicle" which is in the beginning of my book, Irene: Chronicle of
a Survivor. I continued writing in a class for senior citizens, called
"Telling Your Story". Many of the essays, written in that forum are contained
in my book, about my life and how we tried to get my grandmother safely
to the United States.
I have never ceased grieving for her and all our loved
ones who perished, but as my writings show, I persevered, raised a family,
established a career and contributed my energy to many social causes.
Finally, at the age of 74, I came full circle -- reconnecting with and
marrying my long lost Berlin sweetheart."
Irene speaks regularly, most recently as a keynote
speaker at a combined meeting of the Anti-Defamation League and the FBI
at the FBI building in Boston. She has also had several successful book
signings, most notably at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington
on October 18, 1997.
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