about the author
Barbara Bergren is an Award Winning Author, lecturer and Holocaust educator. She earned her MBA from the University of Hartford and worked in the finance industry for twenty-five years before writing Witness for My Father. Barbara visits schools, religious organizations, and community groups speaking about her father’s experience during and after World War II.
This is the story of her father, Martin Weigen, and how his friendship and reunion with Lieutenant John Withers impacted her life. She lives with her husband in both Florida and Virginia.
Barbara is also a volunteer lecturer for students at The HERO Center in West Hartford, Connecticut. They are dedicated to helping educators and students come to a better understanding of the Holocaust. The HERO Center is located in the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, and offers free tours of the Hartford Remembers the Holocaust exhibit, located on the University of Hartford campus.
Through museum trips, talks with local Holocaust survivors, online resources, book lists created by local educators and more, their goal is to provide quality educational programming for students.
Bergren’s writing is so moving that it pulled at my heart and brought me to tears. This is an important book to read, and one I could not put down until the last page. I will remember the main character, Martin, and his ability to overcome his youthful trauma for years to come
“…my father was the real keeper of stories. He was the one who’d tuck me in at night…”