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04.04.2019

Roman Kent in Potsdam: "My Dog Lala" now published in German

 
 
Gudrun Lehmann, head teacher of Nuthetal School

Gudrun Lehmann, head teacher of Nuthetal School

 

 

 

"Lala" has already appeared in English, Polish and French. And now the book has been published in German. Roman Kent, President of the International Auschwitz Committee, first told his children the tale as a bedtime story and later wrote it down. It tells of his moving experiences with his mongrel dog Lala in the Łódź ghetto. In the story he describes how Lala gave him courage and confidence in times of great fear and despair. Roman Kent presented his book at the Education Forum of the Potsdam City and State Library during a Presidium Meeting of the International Auschwitz Committee, which was attended by Auschwitz survivors and members of the second generation from Belgium, Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the USA and Germany.

Children from the Nuthetal School for children with learning difficulties in Potsdam illustrated the story of Lala in a project run by the school’s head teacher Gudrun Lehmann. Her son Thomas, a former American Studies student, translated the text. The children created their illustrations for the book during their art lessons.
 
Christoph Heubner, Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee, initiated the book’s publication in German. The schoolchildren concerned themselves with the story of Lala for more than two years. "We often had very intense and emotional conversations about exclusion and discrimination, where they begin and how we can deal with them," says Gudrun Lehmann. In times such as these, where fascist thinking is spreading at a shocking pace, the book is "a wonderful contribution for opening people’s hearts and minds to what life is really about."
 
Lala tells the story of a little boy and his dog during the Holocaust. It is a true story. "It’s the story of my childhood," says Roman Kent. Hitler’s hatred of the Jews, the Nazi terror, war and death – Roman Kent has combined the carefree story of his companion Lala "with all the horrors that his family experienced, so that my children could understand," he says. He has dedicated the book to them, his grandchildren "and all the children in this world, so that they understand what love can really mean."
 
"The illustrations show just how well the book is understood by those for whom it is written," said Brandenburg’s Minister of the Interior Karl-Heinz Schröter during his welcoming words at the presentation in Potsdam. Potsdam’s culture deputy Noosha Aubel said: "The book moved me deeply. These efforts have been worthwhile. It’s a book you immediately take to heart." Auschwitz survivor Marian Turski, who travelled from Warsaw for the events, said: "Numbers are abstract. Six million dead. That’s impossible for people to imagine. They need concrete examples – like that of my friend Roman and his dog."