By Jerzy (Jerry) Klinger
Froma Zeitlin
Department of Classics
Princeton University
Dec. 2, 1998
Halina Gorcewicz, who lived in Western Australia at the time, contacted me following a letter of mine which appeared in the Western Australian Polish magazine with a request concerning the translation of her manuscript.
She sent me some audio tapes and, having listened to those, I felt compelled to attempt the translation, especially because my own family fell victims to the Holocaust in Poland.
When I met Halina in Perth she was living in a small retirement unit. She told me that it had taken her many years before she could bring herself to look at the diaries again in order to write her book. She explained - if I remember correctly - that she had buried them in a tin at one stage and they were subsequently recovered, but I don't recall by whom or how. She undertook multiple by-pass surgery fairly recently, but when I spoke to her a few weeks ago she was in excellent spirits.
I understood they are still in her possession, although I haven't seen them personally.
Having known Halina for several years now and having had many long talks with her I have no doubt whatsoever concerning the authenticity of the diaries, nor of the events she describes.
You may want to know that I hold full authority from her to act on her behalf concerning this book. Copies of the book were forwarded to several institutions concerned with the Holocaust and it was used as the basis for a very lengthy interview with a team from the Steven Spielberg Shoah Foundation of Living History which, I believe, has been, or will be, included in the CD.
Unfortunately I failed to find a publisher and so, since it was Halina's dearest wish to make her story available to future generations, I published it on the Web. If I can be of further assistance please don't hesitate to contact me again.
Jerry Klinger
Halina Gorcewicz, who lived in Western Australia at the time, contacted me following a letter of mine which appeared in the Western Australian Polish magazine with a request concerning the translation of her manuscript.
She sent me some audio tapes and, having listened to those, I felt compelled to attempt the translation, especially because my own family fell victims to the Holocaust in Poland.
When I met Halina in Perth she was living in a small retirement unit. She told me that it had taken her many years before she could bring herself to look at the diaries again in order to write her book. She explained - if I remember correctly - that she had buried them in a tin at one stage and they were subsequently recovered, but I don't recall by whom or how. She undertook multiple by-pass surgery fairly recently, but when I spoke to her a few weeks ago she was in excellent spirits.
I understood they are still in her possession, although I haven't seen them personally.
Having known Halina for several years now and having had many long talks with her I have no doubt whatsoever concerning the authenticity of the diaries, nor of the events she describes.
You may want to know that I hold full authority from her to act on her behalf concerning this book. Copies of the book were forwarded to several institutions concerned with the Holocaust and it was used as the basis for a very lengthy interview with a team from the Steven Spielberg Shoah Foundation of Living History which, I believe, has been, or will be, included in the CD.
Unfortunately I failed to find a publisher and so, since it was Halina's dearest wish to make her story available to future generations, I published it on the Web. If I can be of further assistance please don't hesitate to contact me again.
Jerry Klinger
