{{Short description|Canadian writer}} {{Infobox person | name = | birth_date = | education = Columbia University (BA)<br>University of Michigan (MFA) | alma_mater = | occupation = writer, journalist | years_active = | known_for = | father = | relatives = | awards = Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature (2022) }} '''Menachem Kaiser''' is a Canadian writer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tyrangiel |first=Josh |date=2021-03-16 |title=A Quest to Reclaim a Family Home Unearths a Past Buried by the Holocaust |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/books/review/plunder-menachem-kaiser.html |access-date=2022-05-22 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He received the 2022 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature for his book ''Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure''.
== Biography == Kaiser grew up in Toronto, Ontario and graduated from Columbia University in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-08-29 |title=Why I (Sometimes) Don't Wear A Kipah* |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-i-sometimes-dont-wear_b_246716 |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=GS Alumnus Awarded Fulbright Scholarship {{!}} School of General Studies |url=https://www.gs.columbia.edu/news/gs-alumnus-awarded-fulbright-scholarship |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=www.gs.columbia.edu}}</ref> He then received an MFA from the University of Michigan, and was a Fulbright Fellow to Lithuania.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-18 |title='Plunder,' Menachem Kaiser's memoir about reclaiming his family's Polish home, wins Sami Rohr prize |url=https://www.jta.org/2022/05/18/culture/plunder-menachem-kaisers-memoir-about-reclaiming-his-familys-polish-home-wins-sami-rohr-prize |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |language=en-US}}</ref> As part of his Fulbright grant, he taught at Vilnius University and created the Vilnius Ghetto Project, an interactive map of the Vilna Ghetto which allows users to explore the streets and buildings of the former ghetto from the perspective of its former residents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remapping the Vilnius Ghetto |url=http://archive.jns.org/latest-articles/2013/5/13/c20kl7erctbwu78y8myjyiirt7nxga |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=JNS.org |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Exploring the Vilnius Ghetto |url=https://www.axismaps.com//projects/vilnius |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=www.axismaps.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Commemorating the Vilna Jewish Community |url=https://yivo.org/Commemorating-the-Vilna-Jewish-Community |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=YIVO Institute for Jewish Research |language=en}}</ref>
Kaiser's grandfather, Maier Menachem Kajzer,<ref>{{Cite web |title='Plunder' Explores Ties To The Past As Author Searches For Property — And Treasure — Lost To Nazis |url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/05/19/plunder-memoir-holocaust |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=www.wbur.org |language=en}}</ref> was a Jew born in Poland who survived The Holocaust before moving to Los Angeles and spent years trying to reclaim his family's apartment building in Sosnowiec. Kaiser documented his journey of trying to reclaim his family's property in Poland and discovering his family's surprising connections to the land in the book ''Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure,'' which won the 2022 Sami Rohr Prize''.''<ref>{{Cite web |title='Plunder,' Menachem Kaiser's book about reclaiming his family's Polish home, wins Sami Rohr prize |url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/plunder-menachem-kaisers-book-about-reclaiming-his-familys-polish-home-wins-sami-rohr-prize/ |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Among his discoveries were that, his grandfather's first cousin, Abraham Kajzer, was the author of a Holocaust memoir, “Za Drutami Śmierci,” which in part detailed his time spent constructing the Project Riese where many suspect treasure looted during the Holocaust was hidden and became popular among Polish treasure hunters. In ''Plunders,'' Kaiser teams up with a group of such treasure hunters in an effort to learn more about his own family history.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burack |first=Emily |title=From Shoah reparations to lost Nazi treasure: A writer's journey on family trail |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/from-shoah-reparations-to-lost-nazi-treasure-a-writers-journey-on-family-trail/ |access-date=2022-05-22 |website=The Times of Israel |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Menachem}} Category:Living people Category:Jewish Canadian non-fiction writers Category:Columbia University School of General Studies alumni Category:University of Michigan alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Writers from Toronto