About four years ago, a reader of this blog reached out to me after reading my post on Gerhard (Gert) Drucker. His name was Andrzej Mrowiński, and he had been researching the Jewish families of Berlinchen (now Barlinek)—the same town where Gerhard was born and spent his early childhood. Andrzej had become particularly invested in Gerhard’s story, which led him to my work.
Gerhard had been a boyhood friend of my own father in the early years of the Second World War. Then Gerhard and his family disappeared and my father never heard from his friend again. After digging through records, I was finally able to confirm that Gerhard and his mother survived the Shoah and later emigrated to Brazil. Gerhard died there in 2020, a year after my father passed away in 2019. It was a bittersweet discovery—closure, but late.
Andrzej asked if I would help translate his manuscript on Drucker from German into English. Unlike my own search for Gerhard—which only found him after he had already passed away—Andrzej had the rare privilege of connecting with Gerhard in the final years of his life. He was able to access family photographs, letters, and other documentation that deepened the story of the Drucker family.
While the English version hasn’t yet found a publisher, Andrzej did succeed in publishing a Polish/German edition in 2023 (Polish: W cieniu holokaustu: Historia życia Gerta Druckera, barlineckiego Żyda; German: Im Schatten des Holocausts: Lebensgeschichte von Gert Drucker, dem Juden aus Berlinchen). The English title would be In the Shadow of the Holocaust: The Life Story of Gert Drucker, a Jew from Barlinek.
Polish title: W cieniu holokaustu: Historia życia Gerta Druckera, barlineckiego Żyda
German title: Im Schatten des Holocausts: Lebensgeschichte von Gert Drucker, dem Juden aus Berlinchen).
English version of the title: In the Shadow of the Holocaust: The Life Story of Gert Drucker, a Jew from Barlinek
This Polish/German version Gert’s biography was published with financial support from the Social and Cultural Association of Jews (Towarzystwo Społeczno- Kulturalne Żydów) in Szczecin. Andrzej was invited to present the book to the association on 28 December 2023, in the large hall of the Szczecin Main Library (Pomeranian Library).
(Photograph courtesy of Andrzej Mrowiński)
Andrzej has written a number of other books centred on his home community of Barlinek, including Barlineckie kamienie pamięci: historia społeczności żydowskiej (Barlinek Memorial Stones: The History of the Jewish Community). It was in this book, published in 2019, that Andrzej first uncovered the story of Gert Drucker and his family.
He’s also published a history of Barlinek in 2013 (Barlinek wczoraj i dziś — Barlinek Yesterday and Today), as well as a biography of the world chess champion Emanuel Lasker in 2012. Lasker had also been born in Berlinchen (Emanuel Lasker: Król Szachów – Historia opowiedziana znaczkami i fotografiami which roughly translates as: Emanuel Lasker: King of Chess – A Story Told Through Stamps and Photographs).
While my Polish is non-existent, Andrzej kindly sent me PDF copies of the Emanuel Lasker book and the Barlinek Memorial Stones volume. I’m beginning to realize that—with the assistance of ChatGPT—I could actually translate them into English and finally read these books.
While my Polish is non-existent, Andrzej kindly sent me PDF copies of the Emanuel Lasker book and the Barlinek Memorial Stones volume. I am beginning to realize—thanks to ChatGPT—that I could actually translate them into English and finally read these books.
It feels fitting to finally share a bit of Andrzej’s work here, given how strongly our research paths intersected around Gerhard’s story. Andrzej and I both feel compelled to ensure that the stories of those lost to the Holocaust are not forgotten.