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Author Richard Hollander was devastated when his parents were killed in an automobile accident in 1986. While rummaging through their attic, he discovered letters from a family he never knew -- his father's mother, three sisters, and their husbands and children. The letters, neatly stacked in a briefcase, were written from Krakow, Poland, between 1939 and 1942. They depict day-to-day life under the most extraordinary pain and stress. At the same time, Richard's father, Joseph Hollander, was fighting the United States government to avoid deportation and death. Richard was astounded to learn that his father saved the lives of many Polish Jews, but -- despite heroic efforts -- could not save his family.
E-Book Content
P1: KNP 9780521882743pre CUFX181/Browning 978 0 521 88274 3 This page intentionally left blank ii August 20, 2007 20:50 P1: KNP 9780521882743pre CUFX181/Browning 978 0 521 88274 3 August 20, 2007 EVERY DAY LASTS A YEAR Richard S. Hollander was devastated when his parents were killed in an automobile accident in 1986. While rummaging through their attic, he discovered letters from a family he never knew – his father’s mother, three sisters, and their husbands and children. The letters, neatly stacked in a briefcase, were written from Cracow, Poland, between November 1939 and December 1941. They depict dayto-day life under the most extraordinary pain and stress, yet the family remained a caring, loving unit. At the same time, Richard’s father, Joseph Hollander, was fighting the U.S. government to avoid deportation and death. The struggle over whether to deport Joseph involves such historic figures as Eleanor Roosevelt, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, senators, congressmen, federal agency heads, and judges. Richard was astounded to learn that his father saved the lives of many Polish Jews, but – despite heroic efforts – could not save his family. Richard S. Hollander’s grandmother, aunts, their spouses, and their children wrote the poignant and powerful letters from Cracow, Poland (1939–1941) that comprise the bulk of this book. Mr. Hollander is the author of Video Democracy, a look at the impact of interactive technology on American politics. He has been a reporter with two daily newspapers and with WBAL-TV in Baltimore, Maryland. Presently, Mr. Hollander is president of Millbrook Communications in Baltimore, an advertising and marketing firm representing professional sports teams and Maryland Public Television. Christopher R. Browning is the Frank Porter Graham Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is the author of seven books on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, including The Origins of the Final Solution and Ordinary Men, both winners of the National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category. Nechama Tec is Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, Stamford, and author of seven books. Her Resilience and Courage, Women, Men, and the Holocaust won the National Jewish Book Award. Others won numerous prizes and were nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. i 20:50 P1: KNP 9780521882743pre CUFX181/Browning 978 0 521 88274 3 ii August 20, 2007 20:50 P1: KNP 9780521882743pre CUFX181/Browning 978 0 521 88274 3 EVERY DAY LASTS A YEAR A Jewish Family’s Correspondence from Poland Introduced and Edited by Christopher R. Browning University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Richard S. Hollander Nechama Tec University of Connecticut, Stamford Annotated by Craig Hollander Christopher R. Browning iii August 20, 2007 20:50 CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York,