November 19, 2014 Reception and Reading with Award-Winning Children’s Author - 4:30 p.m.-6:30

On Nov. 19, Mercer County Community College  and the Mercer County

Holocaust-Genocide Resource Center hosted a reception with the family and friends of the late

Shelley Zeiger, a longtime champion for business in the city of Trenton. Special guest was Rebecca

Upjohn, author of the award-winning children’s book, “The Secret of the Village Fool,” which tells

 the inspiring story of the Zeiger family’s rescue in Nazi-occupied Poland by an unlikely hero,

Anton Suchinski, during World War II. 

As recounted in the book, the Zeiger famiy lived  in the eastern border town of Zborow, Poland.

All that changed with the rise of the Nazis and the start of World War II. As the Nazis ordered the

 evacuation of the Jews from Zborow, a reclusive local farmer named Anton Suchinski offered

shelter to the Zeigers and two orphaned girls. The six hid in a dug-out space beneath Suchinski’s

 root cellar for many months while the village was under Nazi occupation.

MCCC President Patricia C. Donohue  welcomed the Zeigers and the other guests.

 “The college is so proud of its partnership with the Mercer County Holocaust Center, which has

 provided ongoing opportunities for learning and community connections.”

“The Secret of the Village Fool” is the winner of Canada’s 2014 Silver Birch Express Award and

 has received strong praise for its introduction of the difficult topic of the Holocaust to younger

children. (The book is suggested for ages 8+.)

Subject: Reception, Reading & Book Signing with Noted Children's Author Rebecca Upjohn

Reception, Reading, and Book Signing With Noted Children's Author Rebecca Upjohn

http://www.nj.gov/education/holocaust/programs/111914Upjohn.pdf