Shmuel Pisar
In Greek mythology there is a legend about the miraculous phoenix. According to the same legend, there is only one such bird in the entire world, and its place is somewhere in the hot desert. The chicken lives for a thousand years, and when it feels tired and old and weak, it throws itself into the fire and burns. From these ashes it grows and rises again - fresh, young and true to the future.
Because of this bird's place of residence, in the desert, it is called in the Talmud "phoenix". It is a symbol of hope and the ability to endure, it is the symbol of all those who persist, despite the difficulties, who refuse to give up. "As the Phoenix" is also the name of the book of the world famous lawyer - Shmuel Pisar, in which he tells his amazing life stories that began as a child in the concentration camps of the Holocaust..
His life story
Pisar was born in Białystok in 1929, Poland.
His parents and younger sister Frieda were murdered in the Holocaust. Pisar was sent to several concentration camps: Majdanek, Bliżyn, Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, Oranienburg, Dachau At the end of the war, he escaped during a death march after escaping into the forest. He found a refuge in a US tank. He is the only Holocaust survivor of the 900 children of his Polish school.
After the liberation, he was found by an aunt living in Paris and then decided to live with his uncle Melbourne, Australia, where he resumed his studies at the age of eighteen.
He then received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne in 1953. He traveled to the United States and earned a Doctorate from Harvard University. He also held a doctorate from the Sorbonne.
In 1950, Pisar worked for the United Nations in New York and Paris. He returned to Washington in 1960 to become a member of John F. Kennedy's economic and foreign policy task force. He was also an advisor to the State Department, the Senate and House committees.[
As a lawyer, Pisar's clients included many Fortune 500 companies and many known business leaders of the 20th and 21st century. His books have been translated into many languages.
In Greek mythology there is a miraculous bird called the phoenix. Because of this bird's place of residence, in the desert, it is called in the Talmud "phoenix". It is a symbol of hope and the ability to endure, it is the symbol “of all those who persist, despite the difficulties, who refuse to give up. Of Blood and Hope” ("As the Phoenix") is also the name of the book by Samuel Pisar, in which he tells the amazing stories of his life that began as a child in Bialystok and then in the concentration camps.
Pisar's memoir,” Of Blood and Hope” received A Literary Award in 1981. He also wrote a narration based on his experiences and his anger at God, for Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 ("Kaddish"). After Bernstein's death and the attacks on the World Trade Center, Pisar wrote, “Dialogue with God”, in which he expressed his concern for the future of mankind. In June 2009, the poem was recited by Pisar at a performance of Kaddish at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, Israel.
Pisar co-founded Yad Vashem-France, was a Director of the Foundation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah,
Pisar married twice. He had two daughters by his first wife, Norma Pisar, and one, Leah Pisar (who worked in the White House for Bill Clinton), from his second wife, Judith, with whom he lived in Paris and New York City. His stepson, Judith's son, Antony Blinken has been appointed to President Joe Biden's cabinet as Secretary of State.
Among distinctions, he was a Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honor by then President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012 and a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. In March 1995, Pisar was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia by Queen Elizabeth, "for service to international relations and human rights".
Pisar died from pneumonia on July 27, 2015 in Manhattan, age 86.