- Summary
- "The astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg--a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat--drawing on Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir. World War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, unknown story of "Countess Janina Suchodolska," a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland's Nazi occupiers. Mehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of Aktion Reinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the "Countess" persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine--even decorated Christmas trees--for thousands more of the camp's prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned at Majdanek, where 63,000 Jews were murdered in gas chambers and shooting pits. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman. They interweave Mehlberg's sometimes harrowing personal testimony with broader historical narrative. Like The Light of Days, Schindler's List, and Irena's Children, The Counterfeit Countess is an unforgettable account of inspiring courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty"-- Provided by publisher.
- Variant Title
- Jewish woman who rescued thousands of Poles during the Holocaust
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- White, Elizabeth B., author.
- Published
- New York : Simon & Schuster, 2024
©2024
- Locale
- Poland
Lublin
Lublin (Poland)
Pologne
- Edition
- First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition
- Contents
-
Before
The beginning of the end
Terror comes to Lwów
Transformation
The dystopian utopia
Annihilation
"Better to die a soldier"
Frozen cargo
The Polish question
Majdanek
Janina's lists
Rescue
Soup with a side of hope
Harvest of death
Christmas at Majdanek
Cat and mouse
The plot
The end approaches
Blood on the stairs
The end
Flight
A new beginning
Epilogue: "Janina's story"
Coda.
- Other Authors/Editors
- Sliwa, Joanna, author.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-290) and index.
Before -- The beginning of the end -- Terror comes to Lwów -- Transformation -- The dystopian utopia -- Annihilation -- "Better to die a soldier" -- Frozen cargo -- The Polish question -- Majdanek -- Janina's lists -- Rescue -- Soup with a side of hope -- Harvest of death -- Christmas at Majdanek -- Cat and mouse -- The plot -- The end approaches -- Blood on the stairs -- The end -- Flight -- A new beginning -- Epilogue: "Janina's story" -- Coda.
