Читать книгу Never to Be Forgotten: A Young Girl's Holocaust Memoir - Beatrice Muchman - Страница 5

In the beginning my accomplished student, Kathy Stamp, gave each letter that I translated a resting place, spending untold hours at her computer. In her capable hands the letters were categorized according to the years in which they were written and the family members who wrote them. Together we worked to unravel a seemingly endless maze and arrived at a chronological list of letters that became alive to tell the tragic, yet inspiring story of a resilient family in search of one another and a path to safety in America.

Professor Henri Hurwitz, my cousin, is part of the story. He helped me decipher his own father’s minuscule handwriting so we could translate his letters. Henri is the family historian, his recall and wealth of knowledge never ceases to amazes me.

Maxime Steinberg, Belgian historian and the author of many valuable volumes on the period of the Holocaust offered me the background and encouragement to write and have the memoir published.

My agent, Muriel Nellis, took this project to her heart. She introduced me to Paul Engleman who became my editor. Paul is a Catholic of German ancestry well qualified to work on the story of a German-Jewish girl who was once converted to Catholicism. We became immediate friends. Without his literary talent and dedication this book might still be in the making.

Although she lived long and wisely, Anita Muchman, my mother-in-law and loyal fan did not live long enough to see this book in print. It would have held a place of honor in her extensive library.

Never too busy to answer my phone calls to her office at Encyclopedia Britannica, Marilyn Klein, acted both as critic and fact finder whenever her schedule permitted.

Good friends and family members read some of the early drafts of the manuscript. They managed to compliment the book so skillfully that I hardly realized I was being corrected.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, now holds in its treasure trove my beloved family history in photographs and documents. Suzy Snyder, a curator at the museum, and my friend, gave this memoir its legs. Her tireless efforts to make certain these donated documents became acceptable images on the pages that follow are beyond appreciation.

Ryan Levesque, President of eBookIt.com, his invaluable associate Karen Carpenter, and his staff worked diligently on this revised edition, patiently tolerating my numerous questions and emails.

For his enduring patience, vivid humor, love and support, I remain ever thankful to my late husband. He gave me the courage to carry out the process so the story would not be forgotten and could be shared.

With genuine understanding, never trying to replace the past but rather joining in my future endeavors, my husband, Lawrence Abrams, has been a steady presence in my life. A loyal companion and “chauffeur” accompanying me to my speaking engagements. He continues to be my editor in chief.

To them all I am deeply grateful.