History Fort Lauderdale, proud steward of our community’s past by making our heritage accessible and engaging to residents and visitors, will present a free book signing and meet & greet with H.J. Zeger, author of “The Help of Angels,” on Monday, April 17, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. His appearance is part of History Fort Lauderdale’s “Florida Scribes & Stories,” a meet the author monthly series that offers literary and history enthusiasts a chance to speak with local authors, purchase their latest releases and have them signed.

The Help of Angels invites readers to view life in Europe before and during the Holocaust from a personal and highly unique perspective. The Help of Angels is a moving historical novel that takes readers on a journey through the time period of 1933 to 1945, showcasing the experiences of Benjamin Weiss, a young man who witnesses the atrocities of the Holocaust firsthand. The novel follows Ben’s life in a small Hungarian town, his family’s survival and loss during the Second World War, and his imprisonment in the Mauthausen concentration camp. The novel tells the fate of one family while highlighting the experience of millions who suffered at the hands of Hungarian and Nazi war criminals. The book is available on Amazon.com and at History Fort Lauderdale’s Museum Shop.

H.J. Zeger is a self-taught writer who established his independent publishing company, Sunbridge Books. He grew up in Newburgh, New York, and attended the Culinary Institute of America before pursuing a career in the catering, restaurant, and hotel business. The author’s first book, If Frogs Could Fly, is a satirical tale about a search for a lost tribe of Israel in the Amazon Jungle of Peru. Although it is currently unavailable in print, the novel is being made into an audiobook.

Guests may RSVP at https://bit.ly/HFLFloridaScribesZeger2023.

History Fort Lauderdale hosts a variety of engaging multicultural experiences, year-round. Permanent exhibits include “From Dugouts to Dream Yachts,” a visual narrative weaving the story of the ever-changing use of Fort Lauderdale’s waterways by following the strokes of the first people to today’s sightseers, “The Bryans of Fort Lauderdale” which allows visitors to experience the story of the City of Fort Lauderdale as told through the pioneer family that shaped its development from an agricultural outpost in 1896 to a bustling city in the 1920s to its current status as a leading Metropolis, “Juliette Lange: A Portrait of a Mezzo Soprano,” a fashion and lifestyle glimpse of the socially prominent Fort Lauderdale resident with a lauded career as a star vocalist of musical comedy, plus “Archaeology of the New River” and a multitude of stories and photos sharing the history of other founding families of Fort Lauderdale. The nonprofit museum also hosts an artists’ collective collaborative space.

History Fort Lauderdale is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., with docent guided tours, daily, at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Group walking tours are available upon special request. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors and $7 for students (through age 22 with a valid student ID). Admission is free for members, military and children ages six and under. Tickets are available online at HistoryFortLauderdaleTickets.

For more information about History Fort Lauderdale, please call (954) 463-4431 or visit historyfortlauderdale.org. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/ftlhistory, on Instagram @ftlhistory and on Twitter @FTLHistory. Subscribe to us on YouTube at youtube.com/user/FTLhistory.