Talks / Ideas / Philosophy

Inheritance: Love, Loss, and the Legacy of the Holocaust – Book Launch at The Wiener Holocaust Library

28 Rutland Gate, London

Mon 5 Oct · 15:00

Talk

About this event

Please join us for Inheritance: Love, Loss, and the Legacy of the Holocaust at The Wiener Holocaust Library . The evening will include a book talk by co-authors Charlie Scheidt and Kat Rohrer followed by a reception with an opportunity for book signing. Inheritance is the story of two very different German-Jewish families, uprooted by the Holocaust and war, scattered across two continents, and re-formed in America. It is the story of how a person sets about rebuilding a family history after an unspeakable trauma and ends up building community. “Scheidt, with Rohrer, debuts with a powerful tribute to his family’s experiences during the Holocaust, born from the letters and documents he uncovered after his mother passed away. ‘My mother had bequeathed these stories to me, and the voices of the dead were waiting to be heard,’ he writes, revealing the lives of his Jewish family of German descent during the Second World War while spotlighting how their legacy was shaped by persecution and displacement. His unusual partnership with Rohrer—whose grandfather abandoned his family to join the Nazi Army—symbolizes the book’s profound exploration of complex familial, national, and political ties, made starkly real by the letters and records that bring ordinary people—who lived through extraordinary terror—to vivid life.” – Publishers Weekly Charlie Scheidt was born in New York City to parents who had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe. Growing up in a close-knit, German-Jewish refugee community, Charlie witnessed firsthand the traumatic effects of persecution and exile. Following his father’s untimely death, Charlie stepped in to lead Roland Foods, the business his parents had founded, honoring their legacy and growing it into the leading imported specialty food company. After nearly five decades as CEO, Charlie retired and turned his focus to supporting universities and NGOs that advocate for refugee rights.