Anita's Piano

Award: Montaigne Award Finalist 2015. A book young ones will not forget. Anita has a beautiful life where playing the piano and music surrounds her. Her family lives in Brno, Czechoslovakia. She is nine years old when her town is invaded by German military forces. She sees her world slowly crumble. As the family is displaced again and again, she tries to come to terms with the horrible years that follow. An orphan at age 15, she is left to fend for herself. Awards: Anita has received many recognitions, including 'Movers and Shakers.' More recently, she was awarded the 'Exceptional Leader Award' by Senator Richard Blumenthal, the 'Distinguished Community Leadership Award' by Governor Nancy Wyman, and the State of Connecticut General Assembly Official Citation. These recognitions were celebrated during the ADL Centennial Gala. Reviews: "Her narratives reflects a positive attitude and touches the hearts of all." "Echoes and Reflections" - Anti-Defamation League. "If someone is being bullied or marginalized, she says: 'Step in, Be a Hero. Don't stay silent. Speak out. This takes guts, but it is what we must do as people." - University of New Haven. "She was driven by a relentless need to survive so that she could share her story and ensure that the nightmare of prejudice and violence would never happen again." - Josh Sayles, The Weston Forum - "Anita Shorr has come forward to tell her incredible story as she survived the concentration camps during the Holocaust. It is her goal to ensure history does not repeat itself by sharing history's example of its most extreme form of bullying." Kirsten Schuder, M.S., Contributor.