Tony Molho • Courage and Compassion: A Jewish Boyhood in German-Occupied Greece

The Modern Greek Studies Program and the Brown Department of Classics cordially invite you to join Omer Bartov, Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Elsa Amanatidou, Director of Brown MGS and Tony Molho, the David Herlihy University Professor Emeritus for a discussion of Courage and Compassion, Professor Molho’s memoir of survival in wartime Thessaloniki, Greece. First published in Greek in 2023, Courage and Compassion (Berghahn Books, 2024) is a poignant study of the Shoah and its aftermath in Greece, filtered through the consciousness of the adult narrator who intersperses his experiences with meditations on identity and belonging and the place of Jews in Greek society and history. In this extraordinary personal account of childhood and survival during the Holocaust, Tony Molho recounts his adventures in 1940s Greece from ages four to six, as his parents risked everything to hide him from the German occupiers. In doing so he pays homage to the many ordinary people who selflessly protected his family, demonstrating that even in the darkest times the self-sacrifice and kindness of modest people can still prevail. Delving into the power of memory, and exploring questions of personal identity, and the weight of the Shoah, Courage and Compassion goes beyond the bounds of conventional memoir, as Tony Molho also reflects on the nature of Jewish identity in the aftermath of the Holocaust and on how his personal awareness of this trauma has helped him to understand the course of his own life.The Greek edition was awarded the OURANIS PRIZE of the Academy of Athens.  Books will be available for purchase from 4:30-5:00 pm.