Book Launch: IRMGARD The Girl from Dresden
Please join us in the book launch of Irmgard: The Girl from Dresden honouring Irma Hanner OAM’s legacy.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear why Fiona Kelmann felt compelled to tell Irma’s story, celebrate an extraordinary life, and support the work of the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
Irma’s two decades at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum form a central part of this legacy. A story of survival, witness, and responsibility, this book is a profound testament to the enduring power of memory – and the courage of one woman who refused to be silenced.
Born in Dresden as Nazism tightened its grip, Irmgard witnessed the rapid dismantling of Jewish life in Germany. As discriminatory laws escalated into violence, Irma’s world collapsed during the terror of Kristallnacht. She navigated her own survival in a regime built on persecution and terror – one that punished Jewish lives and targeted non-Jewish people who dared to oppose it.
Irma recounts her story with astonishing clarity: her family’s fate, surviving Terezin, and her arrival to Australia as a refugee. Interwoven with Irma’s testimony is the voice of author Fiona Kelmann, who explores the powerful terrain of post memory, revealing how the past shapes the present and how stories are inherited across generations.
The book also shines a light on the unique strength of Melbourne Holocaust survivors, a community defined by resilience, generosity, and an unwavering commitment to education and remembrance.
Book signing and sales at the event. Book your seats now.
Click here to reserve your seats.
All proceeds from book sales at the event will be donated to the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.
