I attended the Writer Series Lecture with Mimi Schwartz on March 12, 2008. Many people came to the lecture, filling room F111. People began to pile into the corners of the room and pack the isles to hear what Mimi had to say. After a charming introduction by another professor, which captured Mimi’s spirit and recollected the time she spent at Stockton, Mimi Schwartz took to the podium. She seemed calm, confident, and excited. While Mimi has written many books, she spoke to us that evening about one that is particularly close to her heart. She read from Good Neighbors, Bad Times: Echoes From My Father’s German Village. The book describes her quest for information about her father’s neighborhood in Germany. She wanted to tell the untold stories of both Christians and Jews who coexisted in this small neighborhood prior to Hitler’s reign, and what became of the many families during and after Hitler.

She began her discussion by addressing why she chose to write the book in the first place. She spoke eloquently and honestly, admitting that she had little interest in the subject as a young person. While her audience this night was of no particular age, her opening lines seemed to really pertain to the young college students. Many of us young people can relate to not taking a particularly strong interest in our parents history. Just as she said, it isn’t due to a lack of care for our parents . Rather, we are just more wrapped up in our own lives. Her story acknowledged that shying away from our parents history may seem convenient when we are young, but there is much to learn from our elders if we take the time to listen.

Unfortunately, Mimi made this discovery after the death of her father. Determined to not let his history pass on, she dedicated twelve years to finding out the truth. She was welcomed into the homes of both Jews and Christians, some living in the U.S., others still residing in Germany. Inside these homes, Mimi traveled back in time. With the help of a translator and a holocaust studies scholar, she relived the stories of her father’s neighbors. While she only read two short excerpts from the book, during the Q&A session Mimi addressed the question: “How can you know that the stories you were told are truthful?” She admitted that some of the stories contradicted one-another, but she included all of the accounts in her book to allow the reader to distinguish the truth. She also spoke about Ana, a woman who lived in the village and contributed much of her memories of the village to Mimi’s story. Mimi believed in speaking which Ana and seeing her facial expressions that Ana spoke honestly. While her story is by no means a factual report of the events, it is an honest look into the memories of people who lived during the times of the holocaust.

Mimi Schwartz’s story is unique because it is not about what many other holocaust novels are about. She wrote about what is was like to live in a small neighborhood during those tough times in our history. The village of Bonhomie is not a historical landmark for holocaust studies. However, by telling the story of how people in a small village were affected, she explores the idea that all people have stories to tell, no matter how small they may seem.

In her book, situation and setting are very important. The historical events and political power changes during the time these people lived in Benheim are what set up the context for the story. The small narratives from her father’s neighbors, such as “The Good Rain Coat,” have particular significance because of the situation surrounding the event. The tone of Mimi Schwartz’s story (judging from the excerpts) is important as well. She wrote about her discoveries of the people’s holocaust memories in a gentle humor, not to make little of the horrific events of the holocaust, rather to capture the warm spirit of those who were kind enough to share their stories. She was able to capture the innocence of the Christian’s who allowed their Jewish neighbors to be sent away, acknowledging that they did not know what was going on during that time.

Mimi Schwartz’s reading from her book Good Neighbors, Bad Times was very interesting. She explored a highly covered event in a different way than I have seen done before. Through a long and thoughtful process of meeting which many different individuals, she was able to write about the story of a small neighborhood of different people during a very difficult time.