Episode 32: Silence Helps Others Forget

Host Nahanni Rous talks to Holocaust survivor and author, Irene Butter. Like Anne Frank's family, Butter’s fled Nazi Germany, settled in Amsterdam, and was eventually deported to concentration camps. Irene knew Anne Frank, and saw her at Bergen-Belsen just before Anne died. She tells us why she began sharing her story after more than four decades of silence, and how she sees her experience reflected in the current era of xenophobia and rising antisemitism.

To learn more and order Irene's memoir, visit her website.

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Released June 6, 2019

Irene Butter in 2013 with her childhood blanket, the same one she had through Westerbork, Bergen-Belsen, and Camp Jeanne d'Arc in Algeria. Photo courtesy of Irene Butter.
Irene Butter with her Pappi in Berlin, circa 1934. Photo courtesy of Irene Butter.
Irene Butter with her brother Werner at the shore, circa 1939. Photo courtesy of Irene Butter.
Displaced persons camp Jeanne d'Arc (Algeria, 1945): Irene Butter (front row, far right) with friend, Mieke, to her right. Photo courtesy of Irene Butter.
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) School of Public Health faculty and graduating students in hospital administration circa 1975. Irene (front right) was the only woman on faculty. Photo courtesy of Irene Butter.