Mina's Story: A Doctor's Memoir of the Holocaust

We would like to invite you to a book launch of the Ukrainian translation of Mina’s Story: A Doctor’s Memoir of the Holocaust. Dr. Mina Deutsch shared her life story in this book so her family history could be remembered by future generations. Since Mina’s death in 2004, the book continues to inspire her growing family, friends that knew her, and those who discover and read her memoir for the first time.

The Ukrainian edition is being launched here in Toronto on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 7:30pm the St. Vladimir Institute. See invitation attached. The book launch is being presented by the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre in Toronto, the Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto, and the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter Initiative (UJE).

The Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre in Toronto was instrumental in helping us find the right person for this project and introduced us to Professor Leonid Finberg of the Centre for Studies of the History and Culture of East European Jews, National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy who recognized the importance of sharing Mina’s Story to a Ukrainian audience. Professor Finberg had translated and published the Ukrainian edition and plans to promote the book in Ukraine. As host and presenter the Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre has invited both Dr. Jeffrey Kopstein, Acting Director, Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Toronto, and  Dr. Frank Sysyn, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, to participate in the Ukrainian book launch. Both Drs. Kopstein and Sysyn will be the keynote speakers at the event.

The other Toronto event presenter is Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter Initiative (UJE). UJE is a privately organized, multinational initiative conceived and launched in 2008 as a collaborative project engaging Ukrainians of Jewish, Christian, and other heritages, in Ukraine and Israel as well as in the Diasporas. Its work engages scholars, civic leaders, artists, governments, and the broader public in an effort to promote stronger and deeper relations between the two peoples. Rt. Hon. Sir Martin Gilbert and former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner are just a few of the distinguished members of UJE’s advisory committee.

Book Synopsis:

In this compelling personal memoir of courage and endurance, Dr. Mina Deutsch reveals her memories of living in the shadow of the Holocaust. Mina Kimmel left her home town in Poland at age 13 to pursue an education. Settling in Czechoslovakia Mina met Leon Deutsch, a fellow medical student who would become her husband. The young couple’s happy life, however, was soon torn apart by the rise of the Nazi regime. Mina’s Story follows their journey eastward through Nazi-occupied Europe. Finally liberated by the Russians after having to hide in an underground bunker in Ukraine, Dr. Deutsch’s narrative continues in Canada, where Mina and Leon again have to struggle to establish themselves as psychiatrists in a new and foreign country. Mina’s Story is a memorial to all those who died under Nazi persecution, a record of the many atrocities suffered, and, finally, an example of heroism, perseverance, and the indestructible will to live.

Previous Book Reviews of Mina’s Story: A Doctor’s Memoir of the Holocaust: