Underground in Berlin

Underground in Berlin

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 230 , Segment 5

Episode: New Hampshire, Life of a Mayor, Sustainable Tourism, SE Asia

  • Feb 10, 2016 10:00 pm
  • 32:05 mins

Guest: Hermann Simon, Director of the New Synagogue Berlin – Centrum Judaicum Foundation  Here’s an incredible story – well, two stories, really. One is of a young woman, barely out of her teens, orphaned and Jewish in Berlin at the height of World War II. She went underground to avoid the Nazis, refusing to wear the yellow star that would blow her cover. Without the ability to work legally in Nazi Germany, she relied on the mercy of people who often exploited her.  Marie Jalowicz Simon’s story of survival is captivating and it nearly went with her to the grave. She didn’t keep a journal – that would have been dangerous. She didn’t speak of her underground years after the war - not to the philosophy students she taught at university - not even to her son.   Only in the last year of her life, did that son, Hermann Simon, convince her to talk.  And that’s the second incredible story here: How Hermann Simon was finally able to convince his mother to tell the story which is now published – exactly as she told it – as a book titled, “Underground in Berlin: A Young Woman’s Extraordinary Tale of Survival in the Heart of Nazi Germany.”

Other Segments

Sustainable Tourism

12 MINS

Guest: Kelly Bricker, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the University of Utah  It’s the middle of February, and people tired of the cold and snow begin to think about spring break and summer vacation. If you can afford it, planning a visit to a tropical island just might pull you out of the winter doldrums. There’s a lot to consider when booking that vacation: Where do you really want to go? How much can you spend? And what kind of impact your visit will make on the destination you choose? Ok, there probably aren’t a lot of people who ask themselves that last question, but maybe more people should. And not just for the benefit of that local economy that relies on tourism.

Guest: Kelly Bricker, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the University of Utah  It’s the middle of February, and people tired of the cold and snow begin to think about spring break and summer vacation. If you can afford it, planning a visit to a tropical island just might pull you out of the winter doldrums. There’s a lot to consider when booking that vacation: Where do you really want to go? How much can you spend? And what kind of impact your visit will make on the destination you choose? Ok, there probably aren’t a lot of people who ask themselves that last question, but maybe more people should. And not just for the benefit of that local economy that relies on tourism.