By Jaxie Pidgeon
Just over eight years ago, Jori Epstein stood next to Holocaust survivor Max Glauben at Majdanek death camp in Poland.
She was on the March of the Living, a high school program that brings students to Poland to bear witness to Holocaust history.
Glauben has devoted his adult life to attending this journey alongside students to educate them about the atrocities that he and other victims endured.
As a 15-year-old, Glauben’s mother and brother were murdered at Majdanek. While traveling through the camps with Glauben, Epstein put herself in his shoes. She imagined Glauben’s brother being one of hers, Jason or Zachary, and his mother being her mother, Dia.
“If it happened to Max, it could happen to me,” Epstein said in her blog from the trip. “I’ve become fascinated by the knowledge we’re fortunate enough to have access to and I don’t want to forget it. I feel an obligation to be a witness to this.”
Epstein formed a deep connection with Glauben on that trip. Over the years, their bond continues to thrive, regardless of their 66-year age difference.
When Epstein graduated from the University of Texas in 2016, Glauben was given recovered primary documents from his Holocaust experience and wanted to use them to form a cohesive narrative. Epstein, an NFL reporter for USA Today, jumped at the opportunity to write his story.
Epstein saw Glauben again later that summer. Instead of a cohesive narrative, Glauben decided he wanted his story to be a book, and Epstein concurred. By February 2019, Epstein had a full draft of the manuscript.
“I started just trying to take it piece by piece and reading things multiple times, writing down everything I could, and just breaking it into different parts,” Epstein said. “It's really cool to go back and read and see that I've got Max's testimony down in one full cohesive form.”
Now, after four and a half years of work, her 224-page memoir on Glauben is complete. Since Glauben is turning 93 in January, Epstein found a publishing house that would expedite the publication process. It’s currently available for pre-order with a scheduled release date of March 23, 2021.
Epstein said it’s imperative that the world know Glauben’s story to help combat prejudice and hatred, and that it’s archived for future generations so people will never forget.
“I am proud of what I've done,” Epstein said. “It's been an amazing experience.”
Comments