Avrom Bendavid-Val

Avrom specialized in economic development and has traveled the world with the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Books By Avrom Bendavid-Val

The Heavens Are Empty: Discovering the Lost Town of Trochenbrod By Avrom Bendavid-Val

A magical place, a lost history: Trochenbrod, the setting for Everything Is Illuminated, is now rediscovered for a new generation

Trochenbrod was the only freestanding, fully realized Jewish town in history. It began with a few Jewish settlers searching for freedom from the Russian Czars’ oppressive policies, which included the forced conscriptions of one son from each Jewish family household throughout Russia. This scene of ethnic harmony was soon shattered, as Trochenbrod vanished in 1941—her residents slaughtered, her homes, buildings, and factories razed to the ground.

Yet even the Nazis could not destroy the spirit of Trochenbrod, which has lived on in stories and legends about a little piece of heaven, hidden deep in the forest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  • Biography

    • Avrom Bendavid-Val’s father grew up in Trochenbrod and regaled him with tales of his childhood there. Avrom specialized in economic development and has traveled the world with the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He lives in Washington, D.C.
Next Previous 6 of 12