A lecture documenting stories of refugee children rescued into Switzerland in World War II on Friday 16 March at 1pm at the Wiener Library, 29 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DP
Samantha Lakin is a current Fulbright scholar from the United States to Switzerland. This lecture will discuss Samantha's research concerning what happened to Jewish children, specifically adolescents, who were refugees in Switzerland during World War II. The “sejour en Suisse” for many refugees is not well documented, and the last survivors of the Holocaust are becoming older and harder to speak with. Through in-person interviews with the child survivors themselves in addition to archival work, Samantha will share her research findings and discuss the specifics of the refugee story, to bear witness with the goal of educating others.
Some questions that will be addressed during the lecture are:
Meaningful photographs of the people and places important to this story, taken by professional photographer and former Fulbright scholar Laura Bernier, will also be highlighted during the lecture.
Waleed Al-Bazoon, a CARA fellow supported to complete a PhD in English Literature from the University of Chichester, has now published a collection of poems entitled 'The War on Indigna' that provide his insight into the events following the 2003 war in Iraq. He will provide a short poem reading to conclude the talk.
Waleed's story will be a contemporary reminder that despite almost 80 years between World War II and now, the issue of people fleeing persecution and tyranny still exists.