NEWS RELEASE
New Book, "Surviving Hitler
In Poland: One Jew's Story,"
Provides Vivid Personal Vignettes of Jewish History
FROM: Elizabeth Rynecki - erynecki@yahoo.com
For Immediate Release
30 January 2006
"Surviving Hitler In Poland: One Jew's Story," a newly published
book by George J. Rynecki, highlights many dramatic moments of Polish Jewry
before and during the darkest days of the Holocaust of World War II.
In "Surviving Hitler In Poland," Rynecki describes a variety of
personal incidents that include many narrow escapes from being killed by Nazi
soldiers, watching the Warsaw Ghetto being consumed in flames, learning about
the brutal killings of his father and only sister, barely surviving incarceration
in Europe's oldest prison while losing one-third of his body weight through
starvation rations, and many other harrowing personal experiences.
The contrasts he describes are extreme, from barely surviving in various
hiding places-he was never sent to a concentration camp-to a casual encounter
with Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia, at the end of the war.
Just before the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Rynecki went to Sweden
on a short business trip, and he turned down an opportunity to remain in neutral
Sweden. With a wife and son in Poland, he insisted on returning home to take
care of them. All three survived the War because of Rynecki's shrewdly obtaining
forged identity documents, his ability to pass for an Aryan, his excellent
knowledge of the German language, and his dexterity in thinking quickly on
his feet to bluff his way through potentially lethal dealings with Nazi officials
and supporters whom he encountered through the war years.
George Rynecki wrote this book in his passionate affirmation of the Jewish
community and its triumph over the Nazi regime that was defeated. He wanted
to record his interpretation of this tragic history for the benefit of Jews
around the world as well as for his own family
members, and to honor the memory of his father, Moshe Rynecki.
George J. Rynecki, was the son of the talented artist Moshe Rynecki who was
murdered in a concentration camp. Three of his paintings are printed on the
covers of "Surviving Hitler In Poland." Before his death, Moshe
Rynecki successfully captured scenes of daily Polish-Jewish life in hundreds
of vibrantly colorful and emotionally evocative paintings. Miraculously, many
of these poignant works of art survived being hidden during the War. A selection
of them is depicted in the picture book, "Jewish Life In Poland: The
Art of Moshe Rynecki," edited by the artist's great-grand-daughter, Elizabeth
Rynecki. The book includes 40 color pictures. Additional paintings are displayed
in the virtual internet gallery at www.rynecki.org.
George Rynecki's son, Alex Rynecki, who lives in Marin County, California,
and his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Rynecki, a resident of nearby Oakland, collaborated
on organizing and publishing the hand-written chapters of this book that Alex
found in the trunk of his father's car shortly after his father died in 1992.
Their intention is to preserve the structure and thoughts of the author while
helping to polish up the language to assure a smooth flow of ideas.
"Surviving Hitler In Poland: One Jew's Story" and "Jewish Life in Poland: The Art of Moshe Rynecki" are both published by Trafford Publishing, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; (250) 383-6864; e-mail: orders@trafford.com.
###
Krasinski Park, painted in 1930, depicts six older men enjoying a leisurely afternoon on a park bench, kibitzing and catching up on the news of the day. Oil on cardboard, 33.5 x 49 cm.
[NOTE: Click here for the downloadable image - 3" x 5", 600 dpi]
[ADDITIONAL IMAGES ARE AVAILABLE ON REQUEST]