Mark Klempner (July 11, 1956 – March 3, 2019) was an American folklorist, oral historian and social commentator.

Early life

Klempner grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1997, and winning a J. William Fulbright Fellowship. In 2000, he received an M.A. in folklore from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Later in life, he moved to Costa Rica and taught English writing in Blue Valley school.

''The Heart Has Reasons''

Klempner spent nearly a decade talking with and getting to know Dutch Righteous Among the Nations in order to write ''The Heart Has Reasons: Holocaust Rescuers and Their Stories of Courage'', Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2006. He found the rescuers through Yad Vashem, and was originally funded by a research grant from the Institute for European Studies at

. Most of the rescuers he interviewed were previously unknown to the general public, with the exception of Miep Gies, who tried to save

Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new li ...

and her family. Because Klempner is the son of a Jewish immigrant who barely escaped the Holocaust, he found that his subjects sometimes looked at him as the child or grandchild of the Jews they rescued. He later conducted archival research at The

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...

and The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation. The published book contains a foreword by renowned Holocaust historian Christopher Browning. In Spring of 2012, Klempner addressed members of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

and their Staffs on the occasion of Holocaust Remembrance Day ( Yom HaShoah). He also spoke at the Library of Congress and a webcast is now available containing his speech. On November 15, 2012, an updated paperback edition of The Heart Has Reasons was published by Night Stand Books with the . The subtitle has changed from "Holocaust Rescuers and Their Stories of Courage" to "Dutch Rescuers of Jewish Children during the Holocaust." The author notes that this second edition contains 12 new photographs, improvements in the text, and an updated epilogue.

Commentaries

Klempner's articles on oral history methodology have appeared internationally in professional journals and anthologies such as '' The Oral History Reader''. He has also been a guest

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for mainstream periodicals such as the '' Christian Science Monitor'' and the '' Baltimore Sun'' as well as progressive religious periodicals like the '' National Catholic Reporter'' and '' Tikkun''. His

op-eds An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted au ...

often tackle difficult political and social issues, such as his piece "The Internet: Our Last Hope for a Free Press," which has received more than 1,000 Diggs. He has also been featured as a radio commentator on '' Morning Edition'', and has been interviewed on Air America Radio, NPR, Prime Time Radio and other broadcast media in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He has also been an interviewer, most notably of author Tracy Kidder, wh
spoke with Klempner
about his portrait of Dr. Paul Farmer found in the book Mountains Beyond Mountains. Klempner's articles have appeared on the internet at such sites as Common Dreams, Alternet, The

Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...

, The Social Edge and Sojo Mail, the weekly newsletter of Jim Wallis' Sojourners community.

References

External links

Interview by Mark Klempner: "A Conversation With Tracy Kidder About 'Mountains Beyond Mountains'"
*[http://www.accessmylibrary.com/comsite5/bin/pdinventory.pl?pdlanding=1&referid=2930&purchase_type=ITM&item_id=0286-6414017&word=Navigating_Life_Review ''Navigating Life Review Interviews with Survivors of Trauma'', Oral History Review, Summer/Fall 2000 issue]
''Forgiveness and Hope in the China Cabinet'', National Catholic Reporter, May 7, 2004"Time for new Marshall Plan to rebuild, heal world", The Baltimore Sun, April 11, 2007
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080414015816/http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/09/27/4171/ "The Internet: Our Last Hope for a Free Press", Commondreams.org, September 28, 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Klempner, Mark 1956 births 2019 deaths 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Oral historians Jewish American historians Jewish American journalists Jewish American non-fiction writers American columnists American male journalists American religious writers Cornell University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews