I think about Stephanie Oertelt Samuels every year around Martin Luther King’s birthday.

I met her in an an Adult Ed. writing class. She was helping her Dad, Henry Oertelt, promote a book they had written together about his experience in the Nazi Holocaust. She was writing a book of her own and dying of brain cancer.

Stephanie and her family returned to Germany not long after the war and were living in Berlin when Chernobyl exploded spreading radioactive debris over Berlin and much of the rest of Europe. Her children were caught out in the ensuing chaos and Stephanie had no idea of where they were for over a day. That story was to be her book.

Stephanie, her father and their book taught me more about courage, compassion, forgiveness and optimism than I ever thought possible. The honor of knowing her and having contact with her father is incalculable!

Their book, AN UNBROKEN CHAIN: MY JOURNEY THROUGH THE HOLOCAUST, is out of print but I recently bought a copy from Better World Books without a problem. If you cannot find a copy let me know & I’ll try to help. I know of no better reading to honor the spirit of Dr King than this book.