About this event

Join Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, for an evening in conversation with journalist and venture investor Michael Moritz.

Michael will discuss his new memoir, ‘Ausländer’, the story of his Jewish parents’ escape from Nazi Germany.

A book signing and drinks reception will follow. 

About ‘Ausländer’

Nearly 90 years ago, Michael Moritz’s mother and father fled Nazi Germany. Like many members of the Jewish community following World War II, Michael grew up in the long shadow of his parents’ tragedy and grief. After his mother's death, Michael decided to revisit his parents’ history by exploring the documents she left behind. His investigation uncovered the tragic deaths of close family members in the Holocaust, and his parents’ difficult escape from Germany as child refugees.

In his memoir, ‘Ausländer’, Michael vividly reconstructs his parents’ escape and exile from their homeland. While the Moritz family began a new life in Cardiff, the idea of being an ‘Ausländer’ – ‘outsider’ – continues to haunt them.

Casting this story against Trump’s America, Michael cautions his readers that if it can happen somewhere, it can happen anywhere.

Speakers

Sir Michael Moritz was born in Cardiff, Wales, in 1954. A former Time journalist and regular contributor to the Financial Times, he is the author of several books, including ‘The Little Kingdom’, the story of Apple's years as a private business. He was a partner in Sequoia Capital for 35 years and led the business between 1995 and 2012, becoming one of the most successful investors of his generation. Together with his wife, the author Harriet Heyman, in 2001 he formed Crankstart, a San Francisco-based foundation devoted to helping those who might otherwise be left behind.

Richard Ovenden is Bodley’s Librarian and the Helen Hamlyn Director of the University of Oxford Libraries, as well as Head of Gardens, Libraries & Museums (GLAM), University of Oxford.

Event information

• This event takes place in person in the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre at the Weston Library. How to get here.
• The Weston Library is wheelchair accessible. More about accessibility at our site.
• Please note: no food or drink is allowed in the lecture theatre.