Holocaust survivor's memoir goes to Can of Worms

Can of Worms imprint Civic Books will publish the memoir of Holocaust survivor and peace worker Irene Butter in the UK in November. 

Publisher Tobias Steed acquired world English language rights to Shores Beyond Shores from agent Mary Bisbee-Beek at Portland-based Read! A Unique Perspective. 

Born Irene Hasenberg in Berlin in 1936, Butter and her family moved to the Netherlands in 1937 to escape the growing Nazi threat in Germany. In 1943 the Hasenberg's were sent to Westerbork and by 1944, Butter was a prisoner at Bergen Belsen with Anne Frank. 

"Irene's memoir tells the story of her experiences as a young girl before, during, and after the Holocaust, highlighting how her family came to terms with the catastrophe and how she, over time, came to view herself as a survivor rather than a victim," reads the synopsis. "Throughout the book, her first-person account celebrates the love and empathy that can persist even in the most inhumane conditions."

Shores Beyond Shores will publish in the UK on 8th November, to coincide with commemorations of Kristallnacht, and in the US on 15th September with a launch at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. 

Steed said: “Irene’s message about the role one voice can play on the world is more relevant than ever. Irene's words send a poignant message against hate at a time when anti-Semitic, fascist and xenophobic movements around the globe are experiencing a resurgence. Irene, through her book, reminds us of the impact one person can have in choosing to follow the mantra, ‘never a bystander’ — a phrase she adopted only 33 years ago, after her own voice was silenced by her cousins in the years after the Holocaust. Now, Irene Hasenberg Butter is a well-known inspirational speaker on her experiences during World War Two. We are indebted to agent Mary Bisbee-Beek for bringing Irene’s story to our attention.”