{"product_id":"the-counterfeit-countess-the-jewish-woman-who-rescued-thousands-of-poles-during-the-holocaust-9798885799072","title":"The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe astonishing story of Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg--a Jewish mathematician who saved thousands of lives in Nazi-occupied Poland by masquerading as a Polish aristocrat--drawing on Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWorld War II and the Holocaust have given rise to many stories of resistance and rescue, but \u003ci\u003eThe Counterfeit Countess \u003c\/i\u003eis unique. It tells the remarkable, unknown story of \"Countess Janina Suchodolska,\" a Jewish woman who rescued more than 10,000 Poles imprisoned by Poland's Nazi occupiers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMehlberg operated in Lublin, Poland, headquarters of \u003ci\u003eAktion \u003c\/i\u003eReinhard, the SS operation that murdered 1.7 million Jews in occupied Poland. Using the identity papers of a Polish aristocrat, she worked as a welfare official while also serving in the Polish resistance. With guile, cajolery, and steely persistence, the \"Countess\" persuaded SS officials to release thousands of Poles from the Majdanek concentration camp. She won permission to deliver food and medicine--even decorated Christmas trees--for thousands more of the camp's prisoners. At the same time, she personally smuggled supplies and messages to resistance fighters imprisoned at Majdanek, where 63,000 Jews were murdered in gas chambers and shooting pits. Incredibly, she eluded detection, and ultimately survived the war and emigrated to the US. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on the manuscript of Mehlberg's own unpublished memoir, supplemented with prodigious research, Elizabeth White and Joanna Sliwa, professional historians and Holocaust experts, have uncovered the full story of this remarkable woman. They interweave Mehlberg's sometimes harrowing personal testimony with broader historical narrative. Like \u003ci\u003eThe Light of Days\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSchindler's List\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eIrena's Children\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Counterfeit Countess\u003c\/i\u003e is an unforgettable account of inspiring courage in the face of unspeakable cruelty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Elizabeth B. White, Joanna Sliwa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Library Binding\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Thorndike Press Large Print\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/15\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 595\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.6lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.43w x 1.34d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798885799072\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLarge Print\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Thorndike Press Large Print","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42707421692041,"sku":"9798885799072","price":36.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_80c8fa0b-690b-4ba6-ae3f-1ab4add88ace.jpg?v=1719485639","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-counterfeit-countess-the-jewish-woman-who-rescued-thousands-of-poles-during-the-holocaust-9798885799072","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}