Taking in Refugees in World War II and Now: The Story of a Plateau in France and its Citizens who for Centuries have Risked Their Own Well-Being to Help Others.

 

During World War II, French villagers offered safe harbor to countless strangers – mostly children – as they fled for their lives from the Nazis. The same place offers refuge to migrants from Syria, Chechnya and elsewhere today. Why? Come join us for a discussion with the author about the journey she took to France, Poland, Israel, and elsewhere in her search for the answers. Reviewers have called Dr. Paxson's book "exquisite, excruciating and fearless" as well as "radiant" and "riveting." 

Maggie Paxson  is a writer, anthropologist, and performer and has just published her book, The Plateau . She is also the author of Solovyovo: The Story of Memory in a Russian Village , and her essays have appeared in the Washington Post Magazine , Wilson Quarterly , and Aeon . Fluent in Russian and French, Dr. Paxson has worked in rural communities in northern Russia, the Caucasus, and upland France.

This event will be moderated by Hope M. Harrison , Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, The George Washington University, and the author of After the Berlin Wall: Memory and the Making of the New Germany: 1989 to the Present .

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

12:30-2:00pm

A light lunch will be provided.



Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412

Elliott School of International Affairs

1957 E St NW