Holocaust survivor and Canada Reads author Max Eisen dead at 93

Tibor "Max" Eisen, a Holocaust survivor, educator and author of the Canada Reads-winning bookBy Chance Alone has died at the age of 93 on July 7, 2022, CBC Books has confirmed.The cause of his death hasn't been disclosed.

Eisen's memoirBy Chance AlonewonCanada Reads2019, defended byCanadian broadcaster,science journalistand authorZiya Tong.

Born onMarch 15, 1929 to anOrthodox Jewish family,Eisen was 15 at the time of his family's deportation from their home in annexed Czechoslovakia to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

InBy Chance Alone, Eisenrelivedhis traumatic memories of 1944, when he and his family were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. An injury would putEisenin the hospital where, after surgery, he was put to workand random acts of kindness saved his life.

Eisen was liberated on May 6, 1945. Hemigrated toQuebec City in 1949, and was sent to Toronto by the Canadian Jewish community. In Toronto, he wasa passionate speaker and educator who volunteeredat the Sarah and Chaim Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centerfor Holocaust Studies.

• Read an excerpt ofBy Chance Alone

By Chance Alonewasalso a finalist for the2017 RBC Taylor Prizeandfor the2017 Non-Fiction Vine Award for Canadian Jewish Literature.

He told The Next Chapter's Shelagh Rogers in 2019 that writing the book wasn't something he initially plannedto do.

"I didn't want to write a book at first. As a public speaker talking about the Holocaust,I can speak about what I want to touch on and alsoI don't want to talk about. I don't want to let my emotions get the better of me because I want peopleto learn," he said.

I realize that when I'm gone, at least there will be this book.- Max Eisen

"I don't want to make people cry, but I can still see tears in the audience. But many of the students asked me to write everything down on paper.

• Why Max Eisen wrote a book about escaping death during the Holocaust

"And I keep hearing the voice of my father to tell the world about what happened. I realize that when I'm gone, at least there will be this book."

Listen | Max Eisen on The Next Chapter:

Holograms that remember the Holocaust

5 years ago

Duration 0:33

Max Eisen, a Canadian, is the 25th person to take part in a USC Shoah Foundation program that is digitally archiving the stories of holocaust survivors. He shows The Nationals Ioanna Roumeliotis another survivors completed hologram.

Eisenwas appointed a member of the Order of Canada in 2021.He was cited"for his contributions to Holocaust education, and for his promotion of transformational dialogue on human rights, tolerance and respect."

For over two decades, he travelled to schools and community halls across the country to tell his stories about surviving the horrors of the Second World War.Eisenspoke with CBC Books in 2019about the challenges he had in writing the book:

"When I started to write my book,this is when the nightmares came back. I speak four or five times a week and when you are speaking youknow how far you can go, where you want to take yourdiscussion and your presentation. But when I sat down to write and I was looking at this movie in my head, it brought back demons from the past," he said.

• How a promise to his father inspired Holocaust survivor Max Eisen to tell his story

"When you get up at twoor threein the morningand you can't go back to sleep, it's a good time to start writing.I wrote this book with a pencil on paper for two years."

Tongtold CBC Radio in 2019 that meeting Eisenand championingBy Chance Alonefor Canada Reads was an honour: "The minute I metMax,my eyes started welling up and stinging because this isn't just a bookit's his life. He's living history, and he's survived all of this.

• Why Ziya Tong is defendingBy Chance AloneonCanada Reads

"When you read the book, you will find it absolutely unbelievablebut at the same time, it's a total and complete page-turner. You can't put it down. To have a chance to meet with him made me so grateful that he survived."

"By Chance AlonedetailsMaxEisen's life and his experiences going through the Holocaust. It's not an easy read, I'll tell you that. What's interesting is thatMaxand Anne Frank were born in the same year, and Anne Frank didn't live to tell that tale, but Max did," Tongadded.

"He writes in such a vivid and clear style that you feel like you're watching a movie. You can see what he sees and hear what he hears and smell what he smells that's how vivid the imagery is in this book. He transports you. And of course, we're living in somewhat dark times, so this is an incredible, important read."

Max was trying to issue a warning to us to make sure that we don't repeat what he had to live through.- Ziya Tong

Tongspoke with CBC Books shortly after hearing the news that Eisen had diedand expressed her condolences. "This is such sad news. I am still trying to process what has happened right now."

Eisen's By Chance Alone is a vitalread, particularly in light of what is happening in the world today, she added.

"Max was trying to issue a warning to us to make sure that we don't repeat what he had to live through. If anything, now is a time for everybody who hasn't had the chance to meet Max or attend one of his lectures to read By Chance Alone. It is such an importantand powerful work."

• How 3D holograms and AI are preserving Holocaust survivors' stories

Recalling her time on Canada Reads 2019, Tong noted that she had read many books but quickly identified that By Chance Alone was the one she had to champion.

"It was the book that grabbed me by the proverbial lapels and touched me in the heart.I knew that when I first read it that it needed to be shared with the country that was the real goal," Tong said.

"I felt called to it. There is a part of the book where it was actually Max's father's dying wish for him to be able to spread this message and get the word out. Steven Spielberg also made a hologram of Max that way, his life and words will live forever."

Watch | Max Eisen on CBC News:

Why Canada Reads author Max Eisen wrote a book about escaping death during the Holocaust

6 years ago

Duration 2:52

Max Eisen is a Hungarian Jew who was deported to Auschwitz in the spring of 1944. As an author, public speaker and Holocaust educator, Eisen travels throughout Canada giving talks about his experiences as a concentration camp survivor. In 2019, Eisen's memoir By Chance Alone is one of the five books featured on CBCs annual "battle of the books" competition Canada Reads.

By Chance Alonewas published by HarperCollins in Canada.Eisendonateda portion of his royalties from the book to institutions promoting tolerance and understanding.

"HarperCollins Canada is deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Max Eisen, author ofBy Chance Alone. His story of surviving Auschwitz is testament to his incredible strength of spirit and perseverance against all odds,"saidBy Chance Aloneeditor Jim Gifford in a statement to CBC Books.

"Max was a highly influential educator and mentor to tens of thousands of Canadians, and his book has been published around the world. His legacy will last for generations."

Reflecting on hislifein 2017, Eisensaid hisgoal was to educatepeople to learn history so that it is never repeated.

"I am inspired by the need to document my story so others may learn from the past. On a personal level, I have a highly developed sense of observation of the world around me, which constantly inspires and motivates me to take action."