
Counterfeit Countess, The
The untold story of the Jewish heroine who defied the Holocaust
- 336 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Counterfeit Countess, The
The untold story of the Jewish heroine who defied the Holocaust
About this book
'Powerful.... A heart-wrenching profile of resilience, ingenuity, and heroism.' Publisher's Weekly 'A story of courage, compassion, and cunning so profound that it must be included with the greatest Holocaust literature. Janina Mehlberg is a heroine for the ages.' - Larry Loftis, New York Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker's Daughter The Holocaust has given rise to many accounts of resistance and rescue, but The Counterfeit Countess is unique. It tells the remarkable, untold story of 'Countess Janina Suchodolska', a Jewish woman named Janina Mehlberg who rescued more than 10, 000 Poles imprisoned by their country's Nazi occupiers. 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. Incredibly, she eluded detection, survived the war and eventually emigrated to the USA. Drawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, historians and Holocaust experts Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa have uncovered the full story of this extraordinary woman. Unsparing yet inspiring, The Counterfeit Countess is an unforgettable account of selfless courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty, and a major addition to the history of the Holocaust.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Usage Notes
- Maps
- Prologue
- Introduction
- 1. Before
- 2. The Beginning of the End
- 3. Terror Comes to Lwów
- 4. Transformation
- 5. The Dystopian Utopia
- 6. Annihilation
- 7. ‘Better to Die a Soldier’
- 8. Frozen Cargo
- 9. The Polish Question
- 10. Majdanek
- 11. Janina’s Lists
- 12. Rescue
- 13. Soup with a Side of Hope
- 14. Harvest of Death
- 15. Christmas at Majdanek
- 16. Cat and Mouse
- 17. The Plot
- 18. The End Approaches
- 19. Blood on the Stairs
- 20. The End
- 21. Flight
- 22. A New Beginning
- Epilogue: ‘Janina’s Story’
- Coda
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Photo Credits
- Index
- Photos