Join us for an author talk with Mark Hecht, B.C. writer and former geography instructor, as he discusses his 2025 biography Running Away from Stalin: The Life and Times of Alfred Hecht.
In this deeply personal account, Hecht follows the life of Alfred Hecht, a Russian-born German-Mennonite whose family fled persecution and war, endured displacement across continents, and rebuilt in new homelands, including time in the Paraguayan Chaco before immigrating to Canada.
The book’s questions about power, propaganda, forced migration, and resilience remain urgently relevant in today’s geopolitical climate. It’s a gripping reminder that the past isn’t past, and that the struggle for safety and freedom is never just history.
