The jury of the first edition of the Odette and Léon Chertok prize distinguished Chochana Boukhobza pour The Women of Auschwitz-Birkenau (Flammarion). Launched at the initiative of Grégoire Chertokinvestment banker, in homage to his parents, this distinction rewards a work dedicated to genocides. The prize will be awarded this Monday, January 13 at the Shoah Memorial in Paris.
The result of seven years of investigation
« To find traces of Roza Robota and her three comrades, young Polish Jewish women hanged at Auschwitz on January 6, 1945 for stealing explosive powder, it was necessary to delve into the depositions of the prisoners collected during the five trials devoted to the crimes of the SS », Explains Chochana Boukhobza in a press release.
It took seven years of investigation for the writer and director of documentaries on the Shoah, Chochana Boukhobza, to write a monograph on the three years of confinement of women in the death camps. Among the numerous testimonies collected, the essay particularly highlights the journey of Roza Robotaa Polish Jewish resistance fighter who established a resistance network there. “ The talent of the novelist is essential to support that of the historian, because you have to be particularly strong to plunge into this hell », greets Laurent Lemire in a pre-critique for Weekly Books.
The work was selected from a selection of six works. Literary works published between September 30, 2023 and September 30, 2024 were eligible for the prize, whether written directly in French or translated into this language. Literary testimonies can also be taken into account. However, academic essays or works by historians are not eligible.
The jury for this first edition is made up of several personalities, such as the former Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malakthe writer Emmanuel Carrère, Cecile et Grégoire Chertok, Sarah Chiche, Jean Hatzfeldthe rabbi Haïm Korsia, Rebecca Marder, Valérie Toranian et Nathalie Zayde.
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