In Memoriam: Odd Nansen (December 6, 1901—June 27, 1973)

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Odd Nansen died forty-three years ago today.  Having read his diary multiple times, and having frequently discussed Nansen with his eldest child, daughter Marit (Nansen) Greve, the best way I can sum up his character is to borrow the words Primo Levi used to describe his best friend in Auschwitz, Alberto Dalla Volta (Dalla Volta subsequently died in the Auschwitz Death March—the same march young Tommy Buergenthal endured).  Here’s how Levi describes Dalla Volta in his memoir, Survival in Auschwitz: “I always saw, and still see in him, the rare figure of the strong yet peace-loving man against whom the weapons of night are blunted.”

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Book Signings

  • April 11, 2024: Our World, Kiawah, SC
  • May 5, 2024: Hadassah, Stonebridge, Monroe Twp, NJ
  • June 2, 2024: Yiddish Club, Monroe, NJ
  • June 3, 2024: Wilton, CT Public Library
  • September 28, 2024: Swedish American Museum of Chicago (Virtual)

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“Thank you so much for making the visit to Guilford [College] and presenting the honorable life of Odd Nansen. . . . Without your effort, we would never have been able to know Odd Nansen. With it, we have a history to rely upon as a moral compass for acting with integrity in the face of human rights violations. May we live up to it!”

– Jane K. Fernandes
President, Guilford College
Greensboro, NC

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