Miriam Akavia

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Miriam Akavia (Matylda Weinfeld, born in Krakow in 1927) is an Israeli writer and translator, she survived the Holocaust, she is a president of Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue.

[edit] Biography

She was born on 1927 in Krakow in Weinfelds family. During World War II she was a prisoner of Kraków Ghetto, later Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, Nazi German Concentration Camp of Auschwitz and finally Bergen-Belsen. She was rescued by Swedish Red Cross. In 1946 she found her way to Israel. She became a graduate nurse, she studied literature and history at Tel Aviv University. She was also acting cultural attaché in Israeli diplomatic posts located in Budapest and Stockholm.

Miriam Akavia has been publishing her novels and books since 1975. As a president of Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue she has been organizing meetings with teenagers of both countries. Moreover, she struggles against stereotypes which separate Poles and Jews.

[edit] Writing

Miriam Akavia writes mainly about her childhood, the Holocaust and her war experiences. She is also a translator who translates Hebrew literature into Polish language and vice-versa. In 1978 she received a Yad Vashem Prize.

She is a laureate of many honours in Poland, Israel and Germany. Her books are translated in many languages like English, German, Danish, French etc.

Some of her publishings translated into English language:

• And End to Childhood (Essex, 1995, Vallentine Mitchell)
• My Own Vineyard (London, 2006, Vallentine Mitchel)