In ‘Identity, From Holocaust to Home’, Elke tells the story of her upbringing in Germany and reflects upon her life. The book inspires resilience and determination to pursue the life one wants to create.

“The focus in my book is on the impact of trauma on personal identity and how the ripple effect carry on through generations.”

– Elke Babicki

Anfang der 1960er-Jahre am Straubinger Bahnhof: Die neunjährige Elke Michalowicz wartet mit ihrem Vater Alex auf den Zug nach München. Was für andere Passagiere wie ein gewöhnlicher Familienausflug aussieht, bedeutet für die beiden eine Extremsituation. Alex Michalowicz ist polnischer Jude und wurde als Junge von den Nationalsozialisten in ein Konzentrationslager verschleppt. Endlich kann er sich nun überwinden und begegnet in München zufällig einem Kindheitsfreund. Was ihm dieser erzählt, wird das Leben der Familie in Straubing grundlegend verändern. In “Übern Ozean” erinnert sich Tochter Elke an ihre Familie in Straubing. Und sie schildert, wie außergewöhnliche Begegnung und Vorahnungen zu ihrer Auswanderung nach Kanada führten.

In ‘Identity, From Holocaust to Home’, Elke tells the story of her upbringing in Germany and reflects upon her life. The book inspires resilience and determination to pursue the life one wants to create.

“The focus in my book is on the impact of trauma on personal identity and how the ripple effect carry on through generations.”

– Elke Babicki

In a sold out event at the library Straubing, 200 guests listen closely as Elke reads excerpts from her book.

Elke Babicki (left) and journalist Sophie Schattenkirchner (right) who helped bring ‘Übern Ozean’ to Germany.

The book is available now in bookstores throughout Germany as well as on Amazon.

Elke Babicki has been waiting her whole life to tell this story.

In 2017, Babicki, a longtime West Vancouver resident, got her first chance to tell that story with the publication of Übern Ozean in her native Germany.

And with a new translation set to publish, Babicki is now ready for English-speaking readers to learn about her family’s tale of survival during the Nazi regime, the lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and ultimately, finding the will and resolve to move on.

Babicki’s memoir, Identity: From Holocaust to Home, (English edition) launched on Jan. 27, 2021 to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day.