Notes from the Other World

A public meeting with Dr. Leszek Allerhand who survived the Holocaust in Lwow was held. During the meeting there was a screening of the film "Notes from the Other World," based on the book of the same name, in which the author talks about hiding and fighting for his life in Nazi-occupied Lwow. In the film Dr. Allerhand visits his childhood homes and the places that became a refuge for him and his mother during the war.

In 1992, Leszek found in the Jewish Historical Institute a diary from 1941-42 written by his grandfather Maurycy Allerhand – a law professor at the Lwow University. Maurycy Allerhand was killed in the Yaniv concentration camp, but his memoirs survived thanks to Professor Stephen Stasyak. Leszek Allerhand added to his grandfather’s diary detailed memories of his experiences of the Holocaust. This was the basis for the book "Notes from the Other World," which was published in 2003 and became a best seller in Poland. In addition, in 2010, his lavishly illustrated work, "The Jews of Lwow: A Narrative" was published.

The meeting was moderated by Anna Susak, a sociologist, graduate of the Polish Academy of Sciences, researcher at the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe (projects "Region, Nation, and Others," "The Place of Jewish History in Lviv").

The meeting was accompanied by the opening of Jason Francisco’s exhibition "Surviving in Lwow: One Childhood Remembered."