Speaking on his experiences as a Black youth growing up in Hamburg, Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, Hans Massaquoi, journalist and author of Destined To Witness: Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany, will be at Indiana University Northwest on Thursday, February 15 at 7 p.m. in the Savannah Center Auditorium.

Born in Germany to an African diplomat and German nurse in 1926, Massaquoi will give an account of how the home he loved suddenly changes with the ascension of the Nazi party. Barred from playgrounds and high school, shunned by friends, and experiencing “all-out psychological warfare,” Massaquoi recounts his story of survival during this special presentation honoring Black History Month.

Massaquoi currently lives in New Orleans and is a retired managing editor of Ebony Magazine. He comes to Chicago frequently because of the many friendships he developed while working at Johnson Publishing Company.

Sponsored by the Indiana University Northwest Diversity Programming Group and the Black History Month Committee, the Hans Massaquoi Growing Up Black in Nazi Germany event is open to the community free of charge. For more information on the event telephone, 219-980-6629.