Never Far Away: The Auschwitz Chronicles of Anna Heilman

188 Pages·2001·2.57 MB·English

by  Anna Heilman

Never Far Away

Never Far Away
The Auschwitz Chronicles of Anna Heilman
Edited by
Sheldon Schwartz
Introduction by Dieter K. Buse and Juergen C. Doerr
Afterword by Joel Prager
© 2001 Anna Heilman. All rights reserved
University of Calgary Press
2500 University Drive NW
Calgary, Alberta
Canada T2N 1N4
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Heilman, Anna, 1928-
Never far away
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55238-040-8
1. Heilman, Anna, 1928- 2. Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)—Personal narratives.
4. Jews—Poland—Biography. I. Schwartz, Sheldon. II. Title.
DS135.P63H44 2001 940.53'18'092 C2001-911197-5
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDIP) for our publishing activities.
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or
used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or reproducing in
information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed to CANCOPY,
One Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1E5.
Printed and bound in Canada by AGMV Marquis.
Cover design by Kristina Schuring.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Contents
Foreword by Sheldon Schwartz..............................................................ix
Introduction by Dieter K. Buse and Juergen C. Doerr...........................xi
Jews and Poles to 1939.................................................................xii
The Warsaw Ghetto.....................................................................xvi
Auschwitz .................................................................................xviii
The Holocaust: Understanding the Incomprehensible................xix
Memoirs........................................................................................xx
Anna Heilman’s Biography before and after Auschwitz..........xxiv
Warsaw before World War II..................................................................1
The Warsaw Ghetto...............................................................................47
Majdanek................................................................................................67
Arrival at Majdanek......................................................................67
In Majdanek..................................................................................69
Auschwitz...............................................................................................73
The October 1944 Uprising.................................................................125
Premonition.................................................................................132
Estusia’s Last Letter ...................................................................135
The Executions ...........................................................................138
The Ghost of the Past is Never Far Away...........................................143
Afterword by Joel Prager.....................................................................149
Index.....................................................................................................153
• v •

To Marta, who saved my life,
and
to Sheldon, who saved my story.

Foreword
This book consists of the diaries and memoirs of Anna Heilman, written
over the half century between 1944 and 1994.
I learned of my mother-in-law’s diaries while preparing an information
booklet for a memorial ceremony in 1991 at Yad Vashem, the museum
and memorial to the victims of the Holocaust located in Jerusalem. The
ceremony was held to dedicate a sculpture to the memory of four young
women: Esther (Estusia) Wajcblum (Anna Heilman’s sister), Regina
Safirztajn, Ala Gertner, and Roza Robota. These women were executed
in January 1945 for their part in the October 1944 uprising at Auschwitz.
After the ceremony, I asked Anna to translate the diaries that she wrote
in Polish between 1944 and 1945. This material, originally written in
Auschwitz and Belgium, includes the chapters entitled “The Warsaw
Ghetto” and “Auschwitz” and the two sections in “The October 1944
Uprising,” chapter entitled “Premonition” and “Eustasia’s Last Letter.”
The original diaries are with Anna Heilman.
I also asked Anna to write supplementary material to provide context
and continuity. This includes most of the explanatory footnotes and the
chapters “Warsaw: Before World War II”; “Majdanek” (except for the
section “In Majdanek,” which was written in 1975); the “October 1944
Uprising” (other than the two sections, “Premonition” and “Estusia’s Last
Letter,” noted above); and “The Ghost of the Past is Never Far Away.”
This material was written by Anna between 1991 and 1994.
As English is not Anna’s first language, I edited the manuscript for
grammar, while striving to preserve the authenticity of Anna’s literary
voice, which ranges from that of a fifteen-year-old child to that of a woman
in her sixties. I also ordered the material to provide a logical flow for the
reader.
Many people have helped to make the publication of this book possible.
I would like to thank Anna Feldman, Alvin Finkel of Athabasca University,
Georgina Taylor of the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, Walter
Hildebrandt and John King of the University of Calgary, Juergen C. Doerr
• ix •