Mari’s Story: Memory, Food, and Survival

Join the Maine Jewish Museum and Teach the Shoah for a powerful gathering of storytelling, conversation, and Hungarian Jewish food.

The program begins with a homemade Hungarian Jewish brunch lovingly prepared by MJM Executive Director Dawn LaRochelle, a former award-winning restaurateur and caterer who believes food carries memory, story, and connection across generations.

Following brunch, Dr. Judy Stone — daughter of Hungarian Holocaust survivors and author of Resilience: One Family’s Story of Hope and Triumph over Evil — will present an immersive storytelling experience developed through Teach the Shoah.

Told in the first person, the presentation shares the story of Dr. Stone’s cousin Mari Grunberger Gersch, who was just five years old and an American citizen when she was imprisoned in Hungary during the Holocaust. Audience appreciation and a discussion about the process of preserving family testimony and transforming memory into memoir will also be woven into the program.

Blending food, testimony, and conversation, this late-morning gathering offers a deeply human way to engage with history.

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Host or Publisher Maine Jewish Museum