Janina Katz facts for kids

Janina Katz (born March 2, 1939 – died October 18, 2013) was a talented writer from Poland who later became a Danish citizen. She was Jewish and moved to Denmark in 1969. Her first book of poems, called Min mors datter (which means My Mother's Daughter), came out in 1991.

Janina's Early Life

Janina Katz was born in Krakow, Poland, in 1939. Her family was Jewish. Sadly, many of her relatives died in concentration camps during World War II. Janina was secretly taken out of a Polish workers' camp. She then lived with a Polish couple she called her "war parents." They raised her as a Catholic to keep her safe. After the war, she was reunited with her mother, who had also survived the camps.

Janina studied sociology and literature at Krakow University. In the 1960s, she worked as a literary critic, reviewing books. In 1969, she and her mother moved to Denmark. This was during a time when many Jewish people faced unfair treatment in Poland, especially after the Six-Day War in 1967.

Life in Denmark and Writing

For the next 13 years, Janina worked at the Royal Danish Library. She translated books from Polish into Danish. She was 52 years old when her first poetry book, Min moders datter, was published in 1991. She wrote it in Danish. In this book, she shared her feelings about being one of the few survivors in her family. She also wrote about her difficult relationship with her mother and leaving her home country and language.

In 1993, Janina published a novel about her own life called Mit liv som barbar (My Life as a Barbarian). This book tells her story up until her mother's death in 1987. It ends with a powerful message: "Life is a story. But only the luckiest of us are able to write it up."

Janina continued to write many books. In 2006, she released another poetry collection called Min spaltede tunge (My Split Tongue). In 2009, she wrote a romance novel, Længsel pa bestilling (Longing to Order). It's about a Jewish girl from Denmark who meets someone special on a trip to Israel.

She also wrote a poetry collection in Polish, her first language, in 2008. It was called Pisane po polsku. Janina then translated it into Danish herself, calling it Skrevet på polsk (Written in Polish). This book explores her childhood in Poland during the Holocaust. Many of her poems from this time are sad, like this line: "How long is then this list/ of uninvited guests/ to my non-wedding?"

Janina Katz's books often mix sadness with humor. For example, her short story collection Den glade jødinde og andre historier (The Merry Jewess and Other Stories, 1998) combines Jewish melancholy with a touch of magic and the unusual.

Awards and Recognition

In 1998, Janina Katz received the Beatrice Award from the Danish Academy. This award recognized all of her wonderful writing.

Janina's Books

Poetry

• 1991: Min moders datter
• 1992: Mit uvirkelige liv
• 1993: I mit drømmeland
• 1995: Scener fra det virkelige liv
• 1996: Uden for sæsonen
• 1998: Blandt andet
• 1999: Varme steder
• 2002: Det syvende barn
• 2004: Landskabet der blev væk
• 2006: Min spaltede tunge
• 2010: Tilbage til æblerne
• 2011: Skrevet på polsk
• 2013: Endnu ikke allerede

Novels

• 1993: Mit liv som barbar
• 1997: Putska
• 2001: Fortællinger til Abram
• 2005: Drengen fra dengang
• 2008: Længsel pa bestilling

For children

• 2001: Mit liv som syfiluter