Sandell Morse

When she was 71, Morse got a fellowship to travel to France to write a memoir about her family. While doing so, she dug into the history of the village of Auvillar, got to know its people, and learned about their role in the French resistance during WWII. Her book, The Spiral Shell, is a memoir about her family history, her reconnection with her Jewish heritage, and the story of what she learned about Auvillar's past.

Morse's family name was Hirsch and family emigrated from France in the mid-19th Century. In her research, she felt a connection with Jean Hirsch, a nine-year-old resistance courier during the war. Jean Hirsch and his family sheltered in Auvillar. His father and mother both worked for the Jewish Scouts of France, a regular scouting organization before the war that dedicated itself to saving Jewish children during the war. Both his parents were sent to Auschwitz. In addition to his story, she tell the story of four families deported from Auvillar, a history that to this day remains hidden to most villagers and visitors.

The story Morse tells teaches the importance of empathy and connection. Like all accounts of the Holocaust, it looks at the struggle for justice and the challenge to retain our humanity in dark times.… (meer)