Holocaust survivor, author, career educator, and school psychologist, Josie Levy Martin was born in France in 1938 to German Jewish parents who had immigrated to France.
As a young child during the Nazi occupation, she was hidden in a Catholic convent-school for nine months. She was warned to never say her real name, as it would give away her identity. This riveting story is the subject of her first memoir, Never Tell Your Name.
The family of three survived the War and then immigrated to the United States. They settled in Los Angeles where Josie learned a new language, adapted to the culture, and eventually earned her degree from UCLA.
Her work with children, particularly those struggling with trauma, was informed by her own challenging experiences from the War and her life as an immigrant.
Josie’s first memoir, Never Tell Your Name, is the story of a five-year-old girl who must hide in an austere French convent-school during World War II when her German Jewish parents can no longer keep her safe. Only the brave Mother Superior, a French Resistance fighter, knows the child is Jewish.
The book, first published in English, was translated into French and turned into a stage play for Pause Theater in Southwestern France, near the locale of her hiding. A German translation is in progress.
In 2000, she was declared the "First Honorary Citizen" of the village of Lesterps, France, where she was hidden during the War.
Josie has spoken around the country to audiences of all ages, but particularly to school children, always emphasizing kindness, engagement, and standing up to bullies. Available from Amazon Books.
Never Tell Your Name
Coming Soon
Josie has a new memoir coming out in early 2026, Je Suis Réfugiée. It chronicles the story of her coming of age as a French immigrant and Jewish refugee in 1950s Los Angeles. The chapters unfold under the dark cloud of remembering the family’s experiences from the War.
Josie is an enthusiastic member of the Jewish Federation of Santa Barbara where she appears in their exhibit, Portraits of Survival.
She’s a member of the ACLU, has volunteered with the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, and is a founding member of SBCares, a group originating out of Temple, Congregation B’nai B’rith, dedicated to helping refugee families.
She participates in a food for homeless project and supports sanctuary for hardworking immigrants targeted for deportation by ICE.
Josie is a longtime writer and poet. In addition to her books, her writing has appeared in the Larchmont Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, L.A. Jewish Journal, LaMuse, Parents magazine, Santa Barbara NewsPress, and the New Yorker.
An enthusiastic docent at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, she and her attorney husband, Ed Martin, enjoy art, reading, theatre, the symphony, and world travel. They have one son and are responsible for a feisty cat named Tygger.
Praise for Never Tell Your Name:
A magnificent and beautifully written book. Inspirational and thrilling. Historically factual. The story will tear your heart out with a thrilling recount of World War II family tragedies.
— Bonnie S.