October 2014.
Rhonda Fink-Withman
exclusive interview
It's a true honor to have as guest on BRIDGE to ANNE FRANK Rhonda Fink-Whitman, an extraordinary woman with so many inspiring things to share, including a must-have book...
Thank you so much Rhonda for being here with us, it’s a truly honor. You’re so many beautiful things; a successful television personality, an author, a Jewish educator... can you tell us more about you?
I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the USA and I currently live in a suburb of Philly with my wonderful husband of 28 years, Mike, and our two children, our son Josh, age 22 and our daughter Shayna, age 19. We have two cats and in our spare time we volunteer for the USO. After taking a break for a few years to write my book 94 Maidens, I recently went back to being a Jewish educator in the classroom teaching Holocaust studies to 7th and 8th grade students at my synagogue. I don't have another book in the works right now but I have been traveling around the country speaking to groups about my efforts to mandate Holocaust education. I would love for folks in Italy to follow my adventures by "liking" my 94 Maidens FB page, visiting my website and/or following me on Twitter! The book hasn't been translated into Italian yet, but those who speak English are certain to find it a meaningful read!
I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the USA and I currently live in a suburb of Philly with my wonderful husband of 28 years, Mike, and our two children, our son Josh, age 22 and our daughter Shayna, age 19. We have two cats and in our spare time we volunteer for the USO. After taking a break for a few years to write my book 94 Maidens, I recently went back to being a Jewish educator in the classroom teaching Holocaust studies to 7th and 8th grade students at my synagogue. I don't have another book in the works right now but I have been traveling around the country speaking to groups about my efforts to mandate Holocaust education. I would love for folks in Italy to follow my adventures by "liking" my 94 Maidens FB page, visiting my website and/or following me on Twitter! The book hasn't been translated into Italian yet, but those who speak English are certain to find it a meaningful read!
You wrote 94 Maidens, a book about your family’s Holocaust history. It’s a very touching and important book that received a lot of good reviews. What can you tell us about it?
I say it wasn't my choice to write this story, it was my responsibility. There are many stories that have come out of the Holocaust and as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, a longtime Jewish educator, and the mother of college-age children, I felt compelled to share this one. It's my family's story and I always thought it needed to be told. Every story is important. Every story should be heard because we can learn from every one of them. There is no amount of time that has passed, no expiration date on these first hand accounts of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany. We need to know them especially now while we still have a chance to hear from the last generation of survivors and liberators. It's a story inspired by the true events of how my mother survived the Holocaust. At its core, it is a story of survival, resistance, martyrdom, and heroism. It's an easy read by design. Short chapters so that you can pick it up and put it down at anytime. In one chapter, I take you on a journey with me to find out the truth about what happened to family members and in the next chapter I fling you back in time so that you can see it unfold for yourself. My writing style is very conversational. Readers tell me that they feel as if I'm in the room telling them the story. To me, that's a huge compliment! I'm truly humbled by and grateful for the 5-star reviews! 94 Maidens is available at Amazon , Barnes and Noble and my website by the way. There's the plug! Lol!
Before having written 94 Maidens, with your aging mother still suffering scars left by the Holocaust some 70 years later, you decided it was time to go to Germany, where you pitched your way inside the largest Nazi archive the world has never seen in an attempt to discover the truth about what happened to your mother during WWII. What was it like to go to Germany and to live again what your mother has lived during the Holocaust?
It was the hardest thing I've ever done. We visited 7 concentration camps in 13 days. It was a truly an emotionally and physically painful and draining experience for all of us. There were lots of tears. We started out early each day with our various tour guides and were completely drained by the end of the day. When we returned to our various hotel rooms my husband and son would pass out almost immediately. But not me. I sat and wrote in my journal about everything we saw, everyone we met, everything they said, everything we learned, how it made us feel, etc. Really raw stuff. It's all in the book. My readers tell me they feel as if they are on the journey with me. That's powerful!
I say it wasn't my choice to write this story, it was my responsibility. There are many stories that have come out of the Holocaust and as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, a longtime Jewish educator, and the mother of college-age children, I felt compelled to share this one. It's my family's story and I always thought it needed to be told. Every story is important. Every story should be heard because we can learn from every one of them. There is no amount of time that has passed, no expiration date on these first hand accounts of the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany. We need to know them especially now while we still have a chance to hear from the last generation of survivors and liberators. It's a story inspired by the true events of how my mother survived the Holocaust. At its core, it is a story of survival, resistance, martyrdom, and heroism. It's an easy read by design. Short chapters so that you can pick it up and put it down at anytime. In one chapter, I take you on a journey with me to find out the truth about what happened to family members and in the next chapter I fling you back in time so that you can see it unfold for yourself. My writing style is very conversational. Readers tell me that they feel as if I'm in the room telling them the story. To me, that's a huge compliment! I'm truly humbled by and grateful for the 5-star reviews! 94 Maidens is available at Amazon , Barnes and Noble and my website by the way. There's the plug! Lol!
Before having written 94 Maidens, with your aging mother still suffering scars left by the Holocaust some 70 years later, you decided it was time to go to Germany, where you pitched your way inside the largest Nazi archive the world has never seen in an attempt to discover the truth about what happened to your mother during WWII. What was it like to go to Germany and to live again what your mother has lived during the Holocaust?
It was the hardest thing I've ever done. We visited 7 concentration camps in 13 days. It was a truly an emotionally and physically painful and draining experience for all of us. There were lots of tears. We started out early each day with our various tour guides and were completely drained by the end of the day. When we returned to our various hotel rooms my husband and son would pass out almost immediately. But not me. I sat and wrote in my journal about everything we saw, everyone we met, everything they said, everything we learned, how it made us feel, etc. Really raw stuff. It's all in the book. My readers tell me they feel as if they are on the journey with me. That's powerful!
Which is your favorite quote/part of 94 Maidens, and why?
Hmmm... That's a tough one. I'm not sure I have a favorite part. I will tell you that the most difficult part of the book for me is the part that follows Manfred's journey. I cried writing it, reading it, and proofreading it. There is literally blood, sweat, and tears on every page. The quote at the beginning of the book by George Santayana that those who do not remember history are bound to live through it again is very important to me also. It summarizes why I felt compelled to write 94 Maidens in the first place and why I advocated so hard for the Holocaust education bill. That quote is posted on a plaque at Auschwitz-Birkenau. We must remember but in order to remember, we first must learn.
What did your family/friends think about your wonderful idea of wanting to write a book inspired by true events and by your family’s Holocaust history?
They thought I was crazy for taking on this huge project. They said everyone would like to know more about their family's history but how many of us travel to other countries, gain access to sealed archives, do the research, doggedly track down the truth and put it all in a book? Who does that? But they know me and they know how driven I can be. My friends have a saying, "Tell Rhonda she can't do something and see how fast she gets it done!" That cracks me up but I guess it's true.
Right now only 5 states of the United States have mandatory Holocaust education (Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, California and New York) but you led the charge to make Holocaust education mandatory in the US state of Pennsylvania too and I think that what you have done is very important and inspiring. Can you let us know how was it possible to make it happen?
So make that 6! It took a lot of perseverance. It was one step forward and two steps back. I learned a lot about politics and how things work in making and passing laws on a state level. There was opposition from special interest groups that we had to overcome, but this was a real grass-roots effort. My video, The Mandate Video which anyone can see on YouTube, was a real game changer. Once that went viral our politicians had to take notice. More and more people from all over my state, the country, and the world joined my team and strengthened our voice and ultimately we were heard. I got lots of traditional media and social media attention, there was an online petition, people were calling and emailing our state legislators and it all led to a unanimous vote in the Pennsylvania General Assembly to enact a law that would require Holocaust and Genocide education in all public, charter and cyber schools in Pennsylvania. The governor signed it in June. Democracy at its best. I took me a year. Others had been trying to get the bill passed for a year prior to that. Now I'm working with other states to get a similar law passed there. It's one state at a time, but we'll get there. This type of education is too important to let fall through the cracks. Our future as a human race depends on it. I really believe that.
On YouTube you uploaded 94 Maidens- The Mandate Video, a video of some Pennsylvania students failing to know the answer to the most basic questions about the Holocaust. What do you hope that people, thanks to this video, can learn?
That it's never too late to learn. These students are our brightest and sharpest young adults. It wasn't their fault if they didn't know the answers. It's because no-one ever taught it to them. You cannot know something if you have never been exposed to the information. We were failing them in Pennsylvania. We are still failing them in 44 other states across the US. We are fixing that here in Pennsylvania and it can be fixed elsewhere too. I just hope that happens before it's too late. Our young people need to know about genocide and how it comes to be and how it gets carried out so that they can guard against it in the future. Ignorance can be fatal.
Unfortunately also in Italy, where I live, not many students have got a Holocaust education. Most of them don’t know what happened to too many innocents during the WWII because of the Nazis, and others don’t know where Auschwitz it. Why do you think is important that people, especially students, receive ad education about the Holocaust?
It is not just important for students in Italy to learn about the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Violations, it is imperative that they do! Anti-Semitism is at a fever pitch in Europe right now. The number of anti-Semitic instances in Europe haven't been this high since the close of WWII. There have been pigs heads left at synagogues and swastikas painted on Jewish landmarks and establishments in Rome, attacks against Jews at football clubs, anti-Jewish rhetoric spouted by respected Italian politicians, the Italians have recently felt it necessary to install an Anti Semitic hotline! Many Italians suffered because of fascism during WWII. Folks need to remember that and know their history to prevent such acts from repeating themselves on Italian soil. Holocaust and Genocide education is mandatory in other European countries like Germany, Poland, the UK. Why not add Italy to that list? I'm passing the baton to you! Mandate Italy because knowledge is power. It's up to us to empower Italy's children too. Everyone is vulnerable. Don't think another Holocaust can't happen. It's happening right now in Arab lands all across the Middle East. Innocents are dying. We must remain vigilant. All of us!
Can you leave a message to my readers?
Brava to you, Sofia! I recently visited a school in upstate New York that has a sapling from the tree that Anne Frank wrote about in her diary. It was the only tree she could see from her attic hiding place window. It gave her hope! You give Italy hope! Keep up the great work! As I always say, "Educate yourself, teach others!" With love, Rhonda
Hmmm... That's a tough one. I'm not sure I have a favorite part. I will tell you that the most difficult part of the book for me is the part that follows Manfred's journey. I cried writing it, reading it, and proofreading it. There is literally blood, sweat, and tears on every page. The quote at the beginning of the book by George Santayana that those who do not remember history are bound to live through it again is very important to me also. It summarizes why I felt compelled to write 94 Maidens in the first place and why I advocated so hard for the Holocaust education bill. That quote is posted on a plaque at Auschwitz-Birkenau. We must remember but in order to remember, we first must learn.
What did your family/friends think about your wonderful idea of wanting to write a book inspired by true events and by your family’s Holocaust history?
They thought I was crazy for taking on this huge project. They said everyone would like to know more about their family's history but how many of us travel to other countries, gain access to sealed archives, do the research, doggedly track down the truth and put it all in a book? Who does that? But they know me and they know how driven I can be. My friends have a saying, "Tell Rhonda she can't do something and see how fast she gets it done!" That cracks me up but I guess it's true.
Right now only 5 states of the United States have mandatory Holocaust education (Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, California and New York) but you led the charge to make Holocaust education mandatory in the US state of Pennsylvania too and I think that what you have done is very important and inspiring. Can you let us know how was it possible to make it happen?
So make that 6! It took a lot of perseverance. It was one step forward and two steps back. I learned a lot about politics and how things work in making and passing laws on a state level. There was opposition from special interest groups that we had to overcome, but this was a real grass-roots effort. My video, The Mandate Video which anyone can see on YouTube, was a real game changer. Once that went viral our politicians had to take notice. More and more people from all over my state, the country, and the world joined my team and strengthened our voice and ultimately we were heard. I got lots of traditional media and social media attention, there was an online petition, people were calling and emailing our state legislators and it all led to a unanimous vote in the Pennsylvania General Assembly to enact a law that would require Holocaust and Genocide education in all public, charter and cyber schools in Pennsylvania. The governor signed it in June. Democracy at its best. I took me a year. Others had been trying to get the bill passed for a year prior to that. Now I'm working with other states to get a similar law passed there. It's one state at a time, but we'll get there. This type of education is too important to let fall through the cracks. Our future as a human race depends on it. I really believe that.
On YouTube you uploaded 94 Maidens- The Mandate Video, a video of some Pennsylvania students failing to know the answer to the most basic questions about the Holocaust. What do you hope that people, thanks to this video, can learn?
That it's never too late to learn. These students are our brightest and sharpest young adults. It wasn't their fault if they didn't know the answers. It's because no-one ever taught it to them. You cannot know something if you have never been exposed to the information. We were failing them in Pennsylvania. We are still failing them in 44 other states across the US. We are fixing that here in Pennsylvania and it can be fixed elsewhere too. I just hope that happens before it's too late. Our young people need to know about genocide and how it comes to be and how it gets carried out so that they can guard against it in the future. Ignorance can be fatal.
Unfortunately also in Italy, where I live, not many students have got a Holocaust education. Most of them don’t know what happened to too many innocents during the WWII because of the Nazis, and others don’t know where Auschwitz it. Why do you think is important that people, especially students, receive ad education about the Holocaust?
It is not just important for students in Italy to learn about the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Violations, it is imperative that they do! Anti-Semitism is at a fever pitch in Europe right now. The number of anti-Semitic instances in Europe haven't been this high since the close of WWII. There have been pigs heads left at synagogues and swastikas painted on Jewish landmarks and establishments in Rome, attacks against Jews at football clubs, anti-Jewish rhetoric spouted by respected Italian politicians, the Italians have recently felt it necessary to install an Anti Semitic hotline! Many Italians suffered because of fascism during WWII. Folks need to remember that and know their history to prevent such acts from repeating themselves on Italian soil. Holocaust and Genocide education is mandatory in other European countries like Germany, Poland, the UK. Why not add Italy to that list? I'm passing the baton to you! Mandate Italy because knowledge is power. It's up to us to empower Italy's children too. Everyone is vulnerable. Don't think another Holocaust can't happen. It's happening right now in Arab lands all across the Middle East. Innocents are dying. We must remain vigilant. All of us!
Can you leave a message to my readers?
Brava to you, Sofia! I recently visited a school in upstate New York that has a sapling from the tree that Anne Frank wrote about in her diary. It was the only tree she could see from her attic hiding place window. It gave her hope! You give Italy hope! Keep up the great work! As I always say, "Educate yourself, teach others!" With love, Rhonda
Learn more about 94 MAIDENS!
Description: WHEN THE UNIMAGINABLE IS THE ONLY THING LEFT TO DO…
They are innocent schoolgirls ranging in age from 14 to 22. Under normal circumstances they should be learning, laughing, and playing. Unfortunately, the year is 1942 and the place is Nazi-occupied Poland. Nothing is normal. On the night of August 11, dressed only in cotton nightgowns, they await their fate at the hands of their Nazi captors. They are no match for the Nazi beast—or are they?
Meanwhile, a young Jewish family is caught in a perilous game of cat and mouse with the Nazis in Berlin. How long can they possibly remain among the living? It’s getting harder to run, more dangerous to hide. The Nazis are hot on their trail, and time is running out for both the hunters and the hunted.
Rhonda is a successful television personality and a well-respected Jewish educator. With her aging mother still suffering scars left by the Holocaust some 70 years later, she decides it’s time to go to Germany, where she pitches her way inside the largest Nazi archive the world has never seen in an attempt to discover the truth about what happened to her mother during WWII. Will the secrets she unveils help heal her mother’s wounded soul? Or will the answers to her questions change everything she ever thought she knew about her family, her mother, and herself?
Inspired by true events, 94 Maidens is an unforgettable story of heroism, resistance, martyrdom, and survival.
Pages: 304
They are innocent schoolgirls ranging in age from 14 to 22. Under normal circumstances they should be learning, laughing, and playing. Unfortunately, the year is 1942 and the place is Nazi-occupied Poland. Nothing is normal. On the night of August 11, dressed only in cotton nightgowns, they await their fate at the hands of their Nazi captors. They are no match for the Nazi beast—or are they?
Meanwhile, a young Jewish family is caught in a perilous game of cat and mouse with the Nazis in Berlin. How long can they possibly remain among the living? It’s getting harder to run, more dangerous to hide. The Nazis are hot on their trail, and time is running out for both the hunters and the hunted.
Rhonda is a successful television personality and a well-respected Jewish educator. With her aging mother still suffering scars left by the Holocaust some 70 years later, she decides it’s time to go to Germany, where she pitches her way inside the largest Nazi archive the world has never seen in an attempt to discover the truth about what happened to her mother during WWII. Will the secrets she unveils help heal her mother’s wounded soul? Or will the answers to her questions change everything she ever thought she knew about her family, her mother, and herself?
Inspired by true events, 94 Maidens is an unforgettable story of heroism, resistance, martyrdom, and survival.
Pages: 304
What some readers are saying on Amazon about 94 MAIDENS! |
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I would love to see a movie made. It could be as good as Schindler's List in the right hands." Ash Quadir | 6 reviewers made a similar statement
“Dive into this book and savor every page!” Avid Reader | 6 reviewers made a similar statement “An amazing story by an amazing writer.” AJP | 3 reviewers made a similar statement. |