The Unwritten Diary of Israel Unger: Revised Edition

Acknowledgements

215 Acknowledgements he Unwritten Diary of Israel Unger was in many ways a collaborative effort, not only between the two authors but also on the part of many dedicated friends, family, and colleagues. We would like to thank the following people and institutions for their assistance in making this book possible. A personal thanks and much gratitude goes to the Weksler sisters. Upon finally finding Anna and Czesia Weksler (now Anna Sarid and Czesia Opfer) in Israel along with Anna’s daughter, Shoshi Macam, and Czesia’s son, Shamai Opfer, it was as if the book had gained a new family. This family opened their hearts to the project and helped make it possible in any way they could. We cannot express enough our thanks to all of you. Another great deal of appreciation goes to Adam Bartosz. Without Adam Bartosz’ tireless assistance, this book might not have been written. His contributions took the form of sending Israel the photos and documents of the hideout, meeting us many times for interviews and research assistance, providing us with onsite translators and helpers in Tarnow, and providing us with vital eyewitness reports, helping us with online research assistance from afar. Most importantly, Adam Bartosz gave us the feeling that we had a friend in Tarnow, someone we could trust. It made all the difference. Thank you to Jan Chmura of the State Archive of Cracow–Tarnow Branch, who provided expert and friendly assistance both in person and by email. Thanks also to Adam Szczęch at the Ryglice City Hall for spontaneously helping us when we arrived in Ryglice and for research assistance later. Many thanks too to Deena Schwimmer, archivist at Yeshiva University Archives, who was very helpful many times. A very special thanks goes to Dorota Glowacka, Professor of Humanities at the University of King’s College and a scholar of Polish Jewish Holocaust studies. Dorota was always there for us when we needed her, taking on translations , confirming Polish translations and points of research. Your heart is also part of this book. T 216 acknowledgements Two eyewitness interviews helped enormously to put together the story. Thank you to Aleksander Dagnan for meeting with us, for speaking candidly and for daring to open that difficult chapter in your family’s life in order to help us understand it. Thank you also to Kalman Goldberg for your witnessing and for use of the photos of the Dagnan factory. Without your help we might never have found the Weksler sisters. Thank you too to Kalman’s daughter Sandra Goldberg for facilitating communication. Thank you to Rose Dubinsky (originally from Tarnow) for the telephone interview as well as Felicia Graber for sending us excerpts of her father’s story at the Dagnan factory. Thank you to Janusz Koziol of the Tarnow Regional Museum for translation , historical information, and onsite support. Thanks to Howard Fink (Massachusetts) for access to the unpublished database of Tarnow Jews. Thanks to Petr Zidek in Prague for research assistance. And thanks to Amelie Doge (Berlin), who, through your ongoing email correspondence, provided an excellent platform for Israel’s thoughts. Writing The Unwritten Diary meant working with quite a few languages: English, French, Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew, and German. The following people helped with translation: thank you to Yelena Shmulenson (New York) for research in Yiddish-language sources and to Noa Tuvia (Berlin) for translation from Hebrew. Thanks to Katharina Oguntoye and Jobila e.V/Association (Berlin) for providing us with workers for transcription and translation free of charge. In this context, thanks to Uğur Kargin for transcribing the Anne Frank Centre talk tapes and to Dorota Sowinski and Martyna Bec for Polish translation. The following readers looked at early versions of the manuscript and made helpful comments. David Besner, Eldon Thompson, Hélène Jean, Jon and Bev Randall, Sydelle Grobe, Beth Taylor, Sharon Unger, and Lee Heinrich, Sheila Unger and Andrea Superti Furga, Nancy Richards, Karin Meissenburg, Gerry McAlister, Lori Gallagher, and Tristis Ward. Thanks so much to all of you for your invaluable encouragement. And special thanks to those readers who went the extra mile in giving constructive criticism/editing suggestions: Sandra Ireland and Cathie Dunsford. For photos, thanks to Joy Cummings and Deby Nash, Andrea Superti Furga, Marlene Unger, and Katharina Oguntoye. For organizing Israel’s first talk in Germany in 2007, thank you to Blindes Vertraunen e.V./Association and the Anne Frank Centre in Berlin. For organizing Israel’s second...