If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Through the Eyes of a Survivor
by Colette Waddell
The events leading up to and through World War II are so well known, particularly to the baby boomer generation, that people often tend to take for granted they know what went on. This book makes it evident that most have only glanced at the surface.
Through the Eyes of a Survivor is a brilliant synthesis of oral history and historical research. It pierces to the heart of the matter and transforms mere information into vibrant experience.
This book is a shining testament to the magnificence of the human spirit. It teaches us we have the ability to endure the unthinkable and emerge strengthened and somehow more whole…though forever changed.
Nina Morecki , (née Grust), was born into a wealthy merchant class family in Lvov, Poland, the youngest of three daughters. She lived a life of privilege until her teens, when her family was ripped asunder by the Nazi invasion of Poland. She never saw her loved ones again.
Nina became an educator in her mid 70’s after reluctantly telling her story to a high school English class. Its profound impact on her audience propelled her into this unlikely avocation. Colette Waddell, then a student at the University of California at Santa Barbara, heard Nina speak and thought the world should know her story, not as a memoir, but as a historical work.
Colette found in Nina a survivor who proves that people may pass from our physical lives, yet live on in our hearts. Nina’s story offers tolerance in place of forgiveness, and a point of view recognizing the brutal inhumanity that allowed the holocaust, and, more importantly, the human potential to endure it.
About the Author
Colette Waddell’s childhood following her Navy pilot father throughout Europe, the US and the middle east gave her a very up-close and personal view and love of history. As a young adult she expanded a pursuit of eclectic interests in a variety of professions, including vocalist for a rock band. She ultimately married and became an instant step-mother of four. With marriage also came the opportunity to return to college, and she graduated with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara. It was while in school that she heard Nina Morecki speak, a seminal moment in Colette’s life.
With their children now college-bound, Colette and her husband Ross divide their time between homes on Oregon’s Rogue River and their primary residence in Santa Barbara, California. When she is not writing, Colette may be found fishing with her husband, riding her horse, singing with an acoustic band or conquering her fear of heights by rock climbing. She is currently working on a book about a Navaho family.
Stumble it!
