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Dear Chicago Jewish Historical Society (CJHS) members and friends,Shanah tovah. We hope that your holidays have been meaningful, and we wish you all a happy, healthy, and peaceful New Year.
We are pleased to let you know about our upcoming program with CJHS member Michael Soffer, a veteran educator, who has just published “Our Nazi: An American Suburb’s Encounter with Evil” (University of Chicago Press, 2024). The book sheds light on the divisions that surfaced in the Oak Park-River Forest community in the early 1980s, when it was discovered that the head janitor at the local high school was a former Nazi official.
Soffer first wrote about the controversy in two articles that were published in our very own Chicago Jewish History in 2021, and he subsequently developed his research into a book over the next few years.
Soffer will be in conversation with CJHS board member Joel Rubin at Bookends & Beginnings bookstore on Wednesday, November 13, 6 p.m. The bookstore requires that you RSVP here: https://www.bookendsandbeginnings.com/event/2024-11-13/michael-soffer-conversation-joel-rubin-our-nazi-american-suburbs-encounter-evil After the reading and discussion, Soffer will be happy to sign his book, which will be available for purchase.
“Our Nazi” is receiving critical acclaim. The Jewish Book Council called it “a powerful mix of scholarship and memoir,” and Chicago Magazine published an excerpt of the book in its September 2024 issue: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/september-2024/the-nazi-of-oak-park/
We hope that you will join us for a thought-provoking program on a subject of concern to so many of us. Bookends & Beginnings is located at 1620 Orrington Avenue in downtown Evanston.
Please stay tuned for other great CJHS programs over the coming months.
Best wishes,
Dr. Rachelle Gold, President
Rabbi Moshe Simkovich, Interim Vice President
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
1620 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201-3829, United States
