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Mosaic: A Chronicle of Five Generations

(2009, HarperCollins Australia, ISBN 978 07322 8431 2)

Starting in Krakow, Poland, in 1890, and spanning more than 100 years, five generations and four continents, Mosaic is Diane Armstrong’s moving account of her remarkable, resilient family. An extraordinary story of a family and one woman’s journey to reclaim her heritage.

‘Diane Armstrong’s book is a source of delight to the reader. Written with fervour and talent, it will capture your attention and retain it to the last page’ — Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel

‘Mosaic flows like a novel, which once started, is hard to put down. It is a compelling family history of extraordinary people played out against some of the most frightening events of our century. The depth of emotions evoked is stunning. I was thrilled and deeply moved’ — Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22

‘It is no small achievement and it bristles with life … Mosaic is a work of many levels. But ultimately it succeeds because most of its characters demonstrate how the human spirit can soar way, way above adversity’ — Sydney Morning Herald

‘A most remarkable book about one family’s experience … a rich and compelling history … Just as A.B. Facey’s A Fortunate Life and Sally Morgan’s My Place have become part of the national literary heritage, so too has Mosaic earned its place in our social dialogue as part of our cultural tapestry’ — Daily Telegraph

The Voyage of Their Life: The Story of the SS Derna and its Passengers

(2001, HarperCollins Australia, ISBN 978 0 7322 8150 2)

In August 1948, 545 passengers — from displaced persons camps in Germany, death camps in Poland, labour camps in Hungary, gulags in Siberia and stony Aegean islands — boarded an overcrowded, clapped-out vessel in Marseilles to face an uncertain future in Australia and New Zealand. The epic voyage on this hellship lasted almost three months and was marked by conflict and controversy. As the conditions on board deteriorated, tension and violence simmered above and below decks. But romances and seductions also flourished, and lifelong bonds were formed.

Diane Armstrong set sail on the Derna with her parents when she was nine years old, and as an adult she located over a hundred of the passengers to retell their stories.

‘She is a natural sleuth … her writing is clear, incisive, yet imaginative’ — Sydney Morning Herald

‘Armstrong’s triumph in this history is to avoid judgment or argument … she allows readers to enter into the mindset of the refugees, to empathise with them’ — Weekend Australian

‘Armstrong weaves in these individual tales with great skill. They flow in and out of the narrative in rhythm with the ship’s slow movement from the old world to the new’ — The Age

‘The characters become familiar and absorbing … almost unbearably moving’ — Australian Book Review

‘Diane Armstrong’s study of the Derna is an important contribution to postwar Australian history’ — Dr Suzanne Rutland, Australian Historical Society Journal

Winter Journey: a novel

(2006, HarperCollins Australia, ISBN 978 0 7322 7695 9)

When forensic dentist Halina Shore arrives in Nowa Kalwaria to take part in a war crimes investigation, she finds herself at the centre of a bitter struggle in a community that has been divided by a grim legacy. What she does not realise is that she has also embarked on a confronting personal journey.

Inspired by a true incident that took place in Poland in 1941, Diane Armstrong’s powerful novel is part mystery, part forensic investigation, and a moving and confronting story of love, loss and sacrifice.

‘A bold adventure of a novel … Here is a consummate writer at the top of her form. A fine fictional debut from a writer who’s already made her mark’ — Canberra Times

‘Profoundly moving, compelling and superbly written’ — Australian Women’s Weekly

‘A deeply moving and inspiring novel’ — Good Reading

‘Diane Armstrong has done it again with an absorbing page-turner from the opening sentence’ — Australian Jewish News

Find out more

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING OF 1943

WEBSITES:

Holocaust Research Project. See: http://www.holocaustresearchproject.net/ghettos/warsawghetto.html

Jewish Virtual Library: the Warsaw Ghetto. See: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/warsawtoc.html

Photographs of the Warsaw Ghetto. See: http://www.zwoje-scrolls.com/shoah/wghetto.html

BOOKS:

Draenger, Gusta. Justyna’s Diary (available as Justyna’s Narrative, University of Massachusetts Press, 1996).

Edelman, Marek. The Ghetto Fights: Warsaw, 1941–43. London: Bookmarks Publications, 1990.

Engelking, Barbara, and Leociak, Jacek. The Warsaw Ghetto: a Guide to the Perished City. New Haven, Yale University Press, 2009.

Goldstein, Bernard. Five Years in the Warsaw Ghetto. Oakland: AK Press, 2005.

Kostanski, Janek. Janek: a Gentile in the Warsaw Ghetto. Janek Kostanski, Melbourne, 1998.

Landau, David. Caged: a Story of Jewish Resistance. Macmillan, 2000.

Landau, Ludwik. A Chronicle of the Years of War and Occupation. Warsaw, 1962.

Paulsson, Gunnar S. Secret City: The Hidden Jews of Warsaw, 1940–1945. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002.

Ziemian, Joseph. The Cigarette Sellers of Three Crosses Square. Lerner Publishing Group, 1975.

DOCUMENTARIES AND FILMS:

Border Street (Ulica Graniczna), Aleksander Ford, Polart, DVD/VHS, 1950.

A Generation, Andrzej Wajda, 1955.

Uprising, Jon Avnet (director), Warner Home Video, VHS, 2001.

The Pianist, Roman Polanski (producer and director), Universal Studios, DVD/VHS, 2002.

Three War Films: A Generation, Kanal, and Ashes & Diamonds, Andrzej Wajda, Criterion, DVD/VHS, 1961 edition.

MUSEUMS:

Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw (as of May 2009 under construction on the site of the Warsaw Ghetto). See: http://www.jewishmuseum.org.pl/

Jewish Holocaust Centre, Melbourne. See: http://www.jhc.org.au/ 13-15 Selwyn Street, Elsternwick, VIC 3185

Sydney Jewish Museum. See: http://www.sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/

148 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 (corner of Burton St and Darlinghurst Rd)

WARSAW UPRISING OF 1944

WEBSITES:

Website dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising. See: http://www.warsawuprising.com/ State University of New York at Buffalo: Warsaw Uprising 1944. Portal.

See: http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/web/history/WWII/powstanie/link.shtml

BOOKS:

Borodziej, Wlodzimierz. The Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Translated by Barbara Harshav. University of Wisconsin Press, 2006.

Borowiec, Andrew. Destroy Warsaw! Hitler’s punishment, Stalin’s revenge. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2001.

Ciechanowski, Jan M. The Warsaw Rising of 1944. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Davies, Norman. Rising ’44. The Battle for Warsaw (1st U.S. ed.) New York: Viking, 2004.

Karski, Jan. Story of a Secret State. Safety Harbor, FL: Simon Publications, 2001.

Walker, Jonathan. Poland Alone: Britain, SOE and the Collapse of Polish Resistance, 1944. The History Press, 2008.

Woody, Thomas E. & Jankowski, Stanislaw (1994). Karski: How One Man Tried to Stop the Holocaust. John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

DOCUMENTARIES AND FILMS:

Battle for Warsaw. The Nazi Annihilation of Poland’s Historic Capital. Peter Batty documentary. Beckmann Visual Publishing, 2004, DVD.

Battle for Warsaw. Wanda Koscia (director and producer). BBC and The Discovery Channel, 2005, DVD.

Betrayal: The Battle for Warsaw. Andrew Rothstein (producer). The History Channel documentary, 2005, DVD.

MUSEUMS:

Warsaw Uprising Museum, Warsaw, Poland. See: http://www.1944.pl/ 79 Grzybowska St, 00-844 Warsaw (enter from Przyokopowa St)