Viking Magazine - March 2013 - 38

Q&A
A Survivor's Story
Norwegian Holocaust survivor Irene Levin Berman tells the
untold story of Norway's Jews.
BY ANYA BRITZIUS
D
uring WWII in 1942,
Nazi Germany invaded
Norway, deporting
nearly 40 percent of Norway's
2,000 Jews. While four-year-old
Irene Levin Berman survived
by escaping to Sweden with her
family, seven members of her
father's immediate family were
among the 771 victims killed
in concentration camps. In
2008, Berman wrote her story
in the book " We Are Going to
Pick Potatoes: Norway and the
Holocaust, The Untold Story. "
It was fi rst published in Norwegian
and later translated into
English. Viking spoke with the
activist, translator and author
about her story.
Q What sparked your idea
to write a book?
A Several years ago, someone
who was doing a collection of
stories on Holocaust survivors
living in the United States asked if
I would write a chapter about
myself and how I came to the
United States. After I submitted
the chapter, the publisher
called and said my section was
being cut because Norway was
a very small country with very
few Jews. I was devastated. I
woke up and became an activist.
I decided it was time to tell the
story of Norway and the Holocaust,
and I've never stopped.
38 VIKING MARCH 2013
Q Tell us about your memory
at age four when your family
escaped to Sweden.
A That's my fi rst conscious
memory. That day in the park,
our housekeeper came to pick
me up. She said we're going
on vacation, and we're going
to pick potatoes. I thought it
sounded great. We escaped
that same day, November 25,
1942. Most of the Jews were
arrested a few hours later and
taken to Auschwitz.
Q What was it like digging
into your family history,
knowing some of your family
members did not survive?
A I didn't know much about the
Holocaust myself. My parents
didn't speak much about it to me.
I started interviewing those few
relatives who were alive, as well
as friends of the family and relatives
of relatives. I felt very privileged
that I could take a journey
back in time and reconstruct
over 50 years of silence.
Q How would you describe
the book?
A It's about the settlement of
Jews in Norway in the middle of
the 19th century and what it was
like until 1940 when Germany
invaded Norway. I write about
our experiences during the war
and when my family escaped to
Sweden. I also describe coming
back to Norway after the liberation
and growing up with two
identities: Norwegian and Jewish.
Q Why is it important for
you to share your story
with others?
A I realize that most Americans
know next to nothing about
what happened in Norway during
the Holocaust. We are coming
to the end of the Holocaust
generation; it is very important
to bear witness to as much
information as possible while
there are still people around
to tell their stories.
Name: Irene Levin
Berman
Current City:
Hartford, Conn.
Book: " We Are
Going to Pick
Potatoes: Norway
and the Holocaust,
The Untold Story "
Want Irene Levin
Berman to speak
to your lodge?
Email her at
irenelberman@aol.com.
To learn more about
Berman and her story,
go to norwayandthe
ho locaust.com.
Available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.
sonsofnorway.com
http://www.locaust.com http://www.amazon.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com http://www.sonsofnorway.com
Viking Magazine - March 2013

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