Freda Widawski on Mina & Jacob: Holocaust Survivors of Nine Camps

Join local author and daughter of Holocaust survivors, Freda Widawski, in conversation with interviewer Michaela Kalowski, as she discusses Mina & Jacob: Holocaust Survivors of Nine Camps, co-written with her sister, Adele Abraham. While Adele is unable to attend, Freda will share the remarkable story behind this deeply personal family memoir.

Born in post-war Poland and later settling in Bondi with their family in 1962, the sisters tell their parents’ extraordinary journey of survival, resilience and rebuilding life in Australia. More than a family memoir, the book celebrates the humanity, love and indomitable spirit of Mina and Jacob, while offering insight into centuries of Jewish life in Poland, experiences behind the Iron Curtain, and the challenges of migration and belonging in a new country.

Their book Mina & Jacob was recently translated into Polish and published by the Martyrological Museum in Żabikowo and the KL Płaszów Memorial Site in Kraków, bringing their family's story back to a Polish readership.

About the interviewer:

Michaela Kalowski is an interviewer, moderator & curator for writers and ideas festivals. Highlight interviews include Margaret Atwood, Zadie Smith, Tim Winton, & Stan Grant. She was curator of Big Weekend of Books, ABC RN’s annual on-air writers’ festival for five years. She produces & hosts a monthly books conversation event for Petersham Bowling Club. Michaela has conducted radio interviews and presented programs across ABC radio & TV. She's co-presenter & co-writer of a two-part podcast for ABC RN, tracing part of her family’s history, called Laya’s Way Home.

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