“The Secret WWII Concentration Camp Diary of Odd Nansen”
Presented by Timothy Boyce
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, from 7-8:30 p.m.
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts 1102 and Online
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies (CJHPS) invites the public to a free lecture by writer Timothy Boyce on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 7 p.m. in Turchin Center for the Visual Arts 1102, located on Appalachian State's Boone campus.
The lecture will also be offered online via Zoom. To join via Zoom, register at bit.ly/TBoyceAppState.
Boyce practiced law for many years, most recently serving as the Managing Partner of the Charlotte, NC office of Dechert LLP, a global law firm. He holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Finance, and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He received a B.S. from Georgetown University. Boyce's articles have appeared in The Quarterly Journal of Military History, World War II Magazine, The Scandinavian Review, and Viking Magazine. Boyce, who lives in Tryon, NC, retired in 2014 to devote full time to writing and speaking.
Hailed by The New Yorker as “among the most compelling documents to come out of the war,” From Day to Day is a World War II concentration camp diary — one of only a handful ever translated into English — secretly written by Odd Nansen, a Norwegian. This inspiring diary brilliantly illuminates Nansen’s daily struggle, not only to survive, but to preserve his sanity and maintain his humanity. After having been out of print for over 60 years, Boyce rescued the diary from oblivion after reading the memoir of another Holocaust survivor, whose life, as a 10-year-old boy, was saved by Nansen while both were prisoners in Sachsenhausen.
Through selected readings, Boyce will explain who Nansen was, why he was arrested, why he wrote the diary, how he preserved it, and why this diary is as important today as it was when first written.
Sponsored by CJHPS, “The Secret WWII Concentration Camp Diary of Odd Nansen” is free and open to the public. For a disability accommodation, visit odr.appstate.edu.
For more information, visit holocaust.appstate.edu/events/timothy-boyce. Questions can be directed to CJHPS Director Dr. Davis Hankins by email at hankinscd@appstate.edu or by phone at (828) 262-6610.
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About the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies
Appalachian State University’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies was established in 2002 to develop new educational opportunities for students, teachers and the community. Located administratively within the College of Arts and Sciences, the center’s vision promotes tolerance, understanding and respect for all human life. To accomplish this vision, the center works to strengthen tolerance, understanding and remembrance by increasing the knowledge of Jewish culture and history, teaching the history and meaning of the Holocaust and utilizing these experiences to explore peaceful avenues for human improvement and the prevention of further genocides. Learn more at holocaust.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at appstate.edu.
Writer Timothy Boyce
Writer Timothy Boyce