In this episode of Partnering Leadership, Mahan Tavakoli speaks with Dr. Irene Butter, a professor, peace activist, and holocaust survivor. Irene Butter shares why she decided to break her silence and tell the story of her family's experience through the Holocaust, first by sharing her story on stages and at schools and by eventually publishing her book: Shores Beyond Shores - from Holocaust to Hope, My True Story: A Bergen-Belsen Survivor's story of Hope over Adversity. Irene ends the conversation with a powerful message for all!

Some highlights:

-Irene Butter’s memory of a happy childhood with her family in Berlin, Germany

-What a simple bar of chocolate represented for the Hasenberg family

-Irene Butter on the trauma, fear, and sadness in the Westerbork Camp

-Starvation and death in the Bergen-Belsen Camp

-Irene Butter on her encounter with Anne Frank

-How Irene Butter and the Hasenberg family managed to leave Bergen-Belsen

-What motivated Irene Butter finally to share her family’s holocaust experience

-Irene Butter on stories of triumph over trauma

-Irene Butter on why you should never be a bystander

Also mentioned in this episode:

-Werner Hasenberg, Irene Butter's older brother and Holocaust Survivor

-Hanneli Goslar, a close friend of Anne Frank, Holocaust Survivor

-Anne Frank, Annelies Marie Frank was a German-Dutch diarist. She gained fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl documenting her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands.

-Elie Wiesel, Author, Philosopher, Humanist and World's leading spokesman on the Holocaust

Book Recommendations:

Shores Beyond Shores: From Holocaust to Hope, My True Story by Irene Butter

Connect with Irene Butter:

Irene Butter Website

Connect with Mahan Tavakoli:

Mahan Tavakoli Website

Mahan Tavakoli on LinkedIn

Partnering Leadership Website

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