A Time to Hide

Join author Marion Seidemann Fredman in celebration of her remarkable new book, A Time to Hide, a moving work of narrative history and personal testimony based on her family’s experience surviving the Holocaust in hiding during World War II.

The evening will open with an introduction by anthropologist Cari Borja, setting the stage for a conversation on memory, storytelling, and the ways histories are carried across generations. The discussion will then be moderated by Juliana Fredman and bring together Marion with the artists who helped bring the book to life through image and interpretation: Elisa Kleven and Diane Dove.

Born while her parents were in hiding in the Netherlands after fleeing Nazi Germany, Marion grew up carrying a story first preserved privately within her family. In A Time to Hide, she shares that history through firsthand testimony, rare family photographs, historical materials, and newly commissioned illustrations, creating a deeply human and accessible account for younger generations while honoring the complexity of memory, survival, and witness.

When Grete and Julius escaped Nazi persecution, they could not have imagined years spent hidden in an attic, nor that amid secrecy and uncertainty they would welcome a child into the world. Marion’s birth became both an act of endurance and a symbol of hope. Decades later, her telling offers readers an intimate entry point into one family’s experience of courage, loss, resilience, and love.

Together, Marion and the contributing illustrators will reflect on the process of transforming lived history into a visual and literary experience: What does it mean to inherit memory? How do photographs and illustration carry emotional truth? How do we tell difficult histories to young readers without losing their depth?

This evening invites readers, educators, families, artists, and anyone interested in history, storytelling, and remembrance into conversation, and asks us to consider: What stories do we inherit and which become our responsibility to carry forward?

Marion Seidemann Fredman was born in hiding during the Holocaust. After the war, she immigrated to the United States and lived close to her surviving family members. Her story, once shared privately within her family, now reaches readers worldwide as both a personal testament and an enduring lesson in resilience, courage, and love. She lives in Berkeley, California surrounded by her family, friends, dogs, chickens, treasures, and memories. She spends much of her time in her garden making whimsical art and hanging out with her offspring. This is her first book.

Juliana Fredman is a lawyer, documentary filmmaker, painter and one of Marion's four children. This is her first time being a contributing illustrator for a book.

Elisa Kleven is an award-winning author and illustrator known for her intricately detailed and emotionally resonant artwork. Her books have received numerous accolades and honors, and her collaboration on A Time to Hide adds a profound visual depth to this unforgettable story.

Diane Dove is an artist and art teacher. This is her first time being a contributing illustrator for a book.