Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1928, Edith Mayer Cord fled from country to country because of religious persecution. Separated from her family, Cord managed to survive the Holocaust in hiding. After the war, she focused on catching up on her education before coming to the United States. Cord worked as a college professor of French and German before becoming a securities broker, financial adviser, and certified financial planner. She is married, with three children and seven grandchildren. She currently lives in Columbia, Maryland.
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Preface Acknowledgments Beginnings 1. Vienna, Austria: My Childhood and Early Memories 2. Genoa, Italy: The Happiest Year of My Life 3. Nice, France: We Are Refugees 4. Montlaur, France: From School to the Vineyards In Hiding in France 5. Castelnaudary: The Convent School 6. Moissac: In the Hospital 7. Mende: The English Teacher 8. Florac: Christmas Vacation 9. Pezenas: The Outsider 10. Cahors: Vocational High School and Centre de Jeunes Filles Deficientes 11. Flight to Switzerland Switzerland 12. Claparede: The Transit Camp 13. Geneva: Champel, Le Val Fleuri, Le Centre Henri Dunant 14. Chesieres-Villars: Alpina 15. Ulisbach and Speicher: The Nanny Introduction to the Postwar Years Toulouse, France 16. A Year of Floundering 17. School at Last 18. The Second Baccalaureat 19. Faculte de Lettres America 20. America: The Immigrant 21. Reflections Life is Sacred Musings on Old Age and Transitions
"Finding Edith is a painful book to read--and it should be. In great detail and with unequaled precision, Edith Mayer Cord describes her experience hiding in German-occupied and German-Allied so-called Vichy France as a young girl, and her unrelenting efforts to both get an education and avoid capture. One marvels at her discipline and the courage born of necessity. One also is horrified by the many who exploited her dire situation and impressed by the few who came to her aid. She is brutally honest about her relationship with her difficult mother, who was shattered by the loss of her husband and her son, and by her conditions of dire poverty. One cannot fail to be impressed by the journey that Edith traveled to find herself and create a productive life after so much suffering. I know of few books as candid in explaining the price that was paid for survival."