As Stella Levi was growing up on the island of Rhodes, she lived a normal life. She played with her sisters, lounged on the beach and was excited to start high school—until the Second World War reached the shores of her Mediterranean home.
While many of her family members were killed by the Nazis, Levi survived. Today, she is 100 years old and living in Greenwich Village, New York City. Author Michael Frank got the privilege of spending six years hearing her life’s story and turning their conversations into a new book, One Hundred Saturdays. It’s not quite a biography, nor an “as-told-to”, or even a memoir or straight non-fiction narrative; as Frank explains, the book is the description of an encounter he had with this remarkable survivor.
On the night of Nov. 1, Avi and Phoebe kicked off Neuberger Holocaust Education Week in Toronto with Michael Frank, live at this special podcast recording, in partnership with the Toronto Holocaust Museum and the Prosserman JCC. Hear Levi’s story, how Frank approached writing the book and what themes resonate most in today’s heated climate of rising antisemitism.
Credits
Bonjour Chai is hosted by Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy. Zachary Kauffman is the producer and editor. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Socalled. The show is a co-production from The Jewish Learning Lab and The CJN, and is distributed by The CJN Podcast Network. Support the show by subscribing to this podcast, donating to The CJN and subscribing to the podcast’s Substack.
