The Counterfeit Poles. Nachman Podróżnik’s war memories
Take part in the event about Nachman Podróżnik’s book “The Counterfeit Poles” published by the Jewish Historical Institute. Watch Kathy and Jerry Drew – the family of the author from Łomża – and researcher Kyra Schulman interviewed by Jagna Kofta and Józef Markiewicz. The event will take place at Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute and will also be broadcast live on Facebook at 12 pm EST/6 pm CET.
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The story of the survival of the occupation by Nachman and Helena Podróżnik was dictated by the author shortly after the war. A Jewish couple from Łomża managed to escape from the local ghetto just before its liquidation in November 1942. By an unexpected twist of fate, Nachman and Hela found refuge in Annopol, Warsaw, a housing estate for the unemployed and homeless. Thanks to their new identity and "Aryan papers", they moved to Śródmieście (Warsaw), where Nachman began cooperation with the People's Army, for which he produced false documents.

“I told my wife everything I had said to the cobbler so that our stories matched up. From that moment we began a conscious game, a game in which we had to eliminate everything that we had been living in since birth. We had to rebuild our psyches, our way of thinking, moving, and reacting to everything. Our lives were the thing that were at stake in this game.” – Nachman recalled.

 

Jerry Drew – Nachman and Hela’s Podróżnik only son. He taught economic history at the University of Pennsylvania for many years. Together with his wife, Kathy, they organized publication of Nachman's memoirs in English as "Counterfeit Poles". They are also the founders of the Polish edition, which was published by the JHI Publishing.

Kyra Schulman – Doctoral Student in History University of Chicago, researcher and author of the website Counterfeit Poles (http://counterfeitpoles.com/exhibits/show/witamy/welcomeiwitamy).

 

Jagna Kofta –  educator, guide. Runs projects related to Jewish Warsaw. She cooperates with numerous cultural institutions.

Józef Markiewicz –  ethnologist, cultural anthropologist. He works as an oral history specialist at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews

 

The meeting is organized thanks to the financial support of Kathy and Jerry Drew.

 

Day: 27.10.2022
Hour: 18:00
Place: JHI/online