On July 29, the opening ceremony of the memoirs in Latvian of the American historian, political scientist and public figure Professor George Schwab “Odyssey of a Child Survivor. From Latvia Through the Camps to the United States” took place in the house of the Liepaja Jewish community.
The event was honored by the presence of the co-founder of the foundation “Jewish heritage of Liepaja” Selwyn Haas, Liepaja Mayor Gunārs Ansiņš and Ambassador of Latvia to the United States Māris Selga. Director of the museum “Jews in Latvia” Ilya Lensky and executive director of the Riga Jewish Community Gita Umanovska also took part in the book opening celebration.
The memoirs in Latvian were published by the foundation “Jewish heritage of Liepaja”. Its director, Ilana Ivanova, thanked everyone who supported the publication of the book and introduced the audience to the history of the creation of the memoirs and the life of its author.
George Schwab was born in Liepaja in 1931. During the Nazi occupation, his father and older brother were killed, George and his mother managed to survive in the Liepaja ghetto and in the concentration camps in Riga and Germany. After the war, he emigrated with his mother to the United States, where he received his PhD from Columbia University, co-founded the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and was its president for many years.
He is vice-president of the American Association “Jewish Survivors of Latvia”, co-founder of the foundation “Jewish heritage of Liepaja”, member of the Commission of Latvian historians, awarded the Order of the Three Stars, the highest order of the Republic of Latvia.
The book can be purchased at the Liepaja Jewish Community, Kungu Street 21.
29.07.2023