Archive - Leah Eichler

What Does Anne Frank Mean?

I used to know what Anne Frank stood for but the reputation of the teenage diarist has evolved to the point where she might no longer mean anything at…

Jun 24 •

May 2025

Holocaust museums want to change the way we see the tragedy. But is it too late?

Holocaust education for many consisted of a heavy diet of horrific gore. At some point, we forgot that this isn't normal.

May 19 •

April 2025

The Keeper of the Tomb

Gabor Blajer’s family has kept watch over the final resting place of a mystical spiritual leader for over two centuries. Things are about to come full…

Apr 21 •

Reductio Ad Hitlerum, Part III: When swastikas became a symbol of protest

In a curious turn of events, the swastika has become an anti-fascist protest meme.

Apr 9 •

March 2025

Once We Were Slaves, But Now We Are Free

As a child, slavery seemed like a foreign concept. Then I realized my grandfather had been one.

Mar 31 •

February 2025

Forget 1939, It's 1984

Among the many things under attack at the moment is the way we use language. And that why the war over AP's style guide is so important.

Feb 20 •

Leah's Book Picks: Just Once, No More by Charles Foran

In the first memoir of my 5-minute book review series, we get to examine one man's life, and then reconsider our own.

Feb 10 •

5:36

January 2025

Reductio ad Hitlerum, Part II

Did Elon Musk give a Nazi salute on the day of President Trump’s inauguration? Yes, yes he did. Did he mean it? Given that he can't quit talking about…

Jan 23

December 2024

Leah's Book Picks: Songs for the Broken-Hearted, by Ayelet Tsabari

In the wake of her mother's death and leading up to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, an Israeli woman of Yemeni descent struggles to…

Dec 29, 2024 •

5:26

We Are All Related

I naively believed a DNA test would fill out my family tree and allow me to find family members who vanished in the Holocaust. It turns out, I found…

Dec 16, 2024 •

Leah's Book Picks: "Here is Still Here," by Sivan Slapak

In this short-story collection, a fictional third generation Holocaust survivor searches for meaning. Watch my 5 minute review (actually 4 minutes!)

Dec 8, 2024 •

4:31

November 2024

This is not a ghost story. But there is a ghost in it.

My family's ghosts are telling me what to write in this memoir. The question is: will I listen?

Nov 18, 2024 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts