The Diary of Anna Kahan. Siedlce, Poland, 1914 – 1916 is primarily an interesting way to explore the multicultural history of Siedlce.
It is a story about the Jews of Siedlce, wandering in search of a safe haven, the problems of everyday life, and a difficult life lesson as the author was abruptly thrust into the world of adults. The diary is one of the two ever published accounts describing the history of Siedlce during the First World War (…). However, the book is not only addressed to the residents of Siedlce, Anna’s story is universal. The girl describes the reality which she has to face, situations where there is fear, hunger, poverty, and uncertainty of the future. Many of her peers from different parts of the war-torn country had similar experiences. Despite the difficult conditions, Chana also has her teenage dreams and problems. In her diary she describes relationships with peers, tells about girls’ friendships, and her first experiences in boy-girl relationships. She shares her thoughts about the unimaginable cruelty and senselessness of war, human behaviours, which are often so difficult to understand, pettiness, selfishness, injustice. The work on the translation of the Diary of Anna Kahan. Siedlce, Poland, 1914-1916 took several years. Apart from the diary of a teenage Chana, the Polish edition also includes two articles that have never been published. The first of them entitled, “My First Six Years in America” contains the author’s memories of the years 1916-1922. Anna shares her experiences of living in the country of her dreams, compares her ideas with reality (…). The second text is the story “My Parents Eloped Two Months after Their Wedding”. Anna Kahan was ninety years old when she dictated the story to her carer from the nursing home. It is not difficult to guess that the story is about Chana’s parents, Abraham and Rojza, and the beginnings of their relationship (…). The diary and the stories complement each other very well, and are a great source of knowledge about the fate of the Jews not only during the war, but also immigration. First, from the perspective of a child, later, as an adult woman, someone who does not yet know the future, and then someone who has already done some summary.
Excerpts from the review from the blog :
The book can be purchased at the online store of the association tutajteraz:
