Miriam Akavia facts for kids
Miriam Akavia (born Matylda Weinfeld in 1927) was an important Israeli writer and translator. She was born in Poland and survived the Holocaust. Later, she became the president of a group called the Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue. She passed away on January 16, 2015.
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Miriam Akavia's Early Life
Miriam Akavia was born in 1927 in a city called Kraków in Poland. During World War II, when she was a teenager, she faced very difficult times. She was forced to live in the Kraków Ghetto, which was a special area where Jewish people were made to live. Later, she was sent to several concentration camps, including Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, Auschwitz concentration camp, and Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. These were terrible places where many people suffered.
After the war ended, the British Army freed the Bergen-Belsen camp. Miriam was very sick, and the Swedish Red Cross helped her and other sick women recover in Sweden. In 1946, she moved to Mandatory Palestine, which is now Israel.
Education and Career
In Israel, Miriam Akavia trained to become a registered nurse. She also studied literature and history at Tel Aviv University. She worked for her country as a cultural attaché in Israeli offices in cities like Budapest and Stockholm. This job meant she helped share Israeli culture and ideas in other countries.
Miriam Akavia was one of three students who could not attend public schools because of the German invasion during the war. Instead, she was moved to a Jewish high school.
Working for Dialogue
Miriam Akavia started writing and publishing books in 1975. As the president of the Platform for Jewish-Polish Dialogue, she organized meetings. These meetings brought together teenagers from Poland and Israel. Her goal was to help young people understand each other better. She wanted to stop old ideas and stereotypes that kept Poles and Jews apart.
Miriam Akavia's Writings
Miriam Akavia mostly wrote about her own life. Her books often shared her childhood memories, her experiences during the Holocaust, and what she went through during the war. She was also a talented translator. She translated books written in Hebrew into Polish, and Polish books into Hebrew.
Awards and Recognition
Miriam Akavia received many awards for her work. These honors came from countries like Poland, Israel, and Germany. In 1978, she was given a special award called the Yad Vashem Prize. Her books have been translated into many different languages. You can find her stories in English, German, Danish, and French. In 1993, she also received the Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Literary Works.
