Kathy Kacer Reads In Steinbach

Her work has been described as a "gentle introduction to the Holocaust". Kathy Kacer's adventurous stories are all about the Holocaust and its survivors, including her own mother. Kacer says stories of Survival were normal in her household.

"I didn't know anything else. I was raised on the stories of survival that my parents told and their friends told, all of whom were Holocaust survivors. So, I think in some strange way that was kind of the norm for me. I wasn't terrified of it, I was passionate and interested. I think at some level I always knew that I would be retelling the stories in some fashion later on".

Kacer did just that, starting with The Secret of Gabi's Dresser her first book. This is the story of how her mother's childhood was spent hiding in a dresser from the Nazis. Kacer says as part of her research for these books she traveled back to the village her mother grew up in.

"It's always very emotional when I travel to the places that my family members were in. None of whom are alive. I really feel like I'm standing in their shoes in some of these places. It's always a very emotional experience for me. I'm so gratified that I'm able to do it. I think as a writer you have to feel the emotion of the moment if you are going to be able to write about it. It's important for me to feel everything that they have felt".

Kacer did two presentations Tuesday for local students and told them stories about how her family hid in the attic of a barn for a year and a half surviving by the kindness of a Catholic Priest and his wife. Kacer's travels took her back to that farm and she was even able to meet the couple who helped her family until the war was over.

She says writing about the Holocaust isn't easy and educating children on this period of history requires a certain amount of sensitivity.

"My books have been described as a gentle introduction to the Holocaust. I don't explore for the most part the atrocities or the horrors. I really want kids at a young age to get some information, to want to read these stories and then be spurred on to read more and more. So, I start quite gentle and then move from there. The same way that my parents must have started with me".

Kacer has written over 15 books that are enjoyed by children and adults. To hear more of her stories visit the Jake Epp Library at 7:00 on Tuesday evening.