Miriam Akavia also Matylda Weinfeld (1927 – 16 January 2015) was a Polish-born Israeli writer and translator, a Holocaust survivor, and the president of the Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue.

Life

She was born in 1927 in Krakow to the Weinfeld family. During World War II she was interned in the

Kraków Ghetto The Kraków Ghetto was one of five major metropolitan Nazi ghettos created by Germany in the new General Government territory during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. It was established for the purpose of exploitation, terror, an ...

, and then an inmate of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp,

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

and finally the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. After the latter camp's liberation by the British army, she was among the ailing women inmates evacuated by the Swedish Red Cross for convalescence in Sweden. In 1946 she found her way to Mandatory Palestine. She qualified as a registered nurse, and studied literature and history at Tel Aviv University. She also served as a cultural attaché in Israeli diplomatic posts located in Budapest and

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

. Miriam Akavia was one of the three students who were stopped from attending public schools as a result of German Invasion; however, she was transferred to the Jewish Gymnazjum. Miriam Akavia began publishing novels and memoirs in 1975. As a president of the Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue, she organized meetings with teenagers of both countries. She aimed to defuse stereotypes which separate

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

and Jews.

Writing

Miriam Akavia wrote mainly about her childhood, the Holocaust and her war experiences. She was also a translator who translated Hebrew literature into Polish and vice versa. She was a laureate of many honours in Poland, Israel and Germany. In 1978 she received a Yad Vashem Prize. Her books have been translated into many languages, including English,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. In 1993, she received the Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.

Bibliography

In English translation

*''An End to Childhood'' (1995) Essex: Vallentine Mitchell *''My Own Vineyard'' (2006) London: Vallentine Mitchell

Sources

External links

Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110622034957/http://www.ithl.org.il/author_info.asp?id=7 {{DEFAULTSORT:Akavia, Miriam 1927 births 2015 deaths Hebrew-language writers Translators from Hebrew Israeli memoirists Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp survivors Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Kraków Ghetto inmates Tel Aviv University alumni 20th-century translators Jewish women writers Recipients of Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works