The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles during the Holocaust, co-authored with Dr. Elizabeth (Barry) White, a former senior historian at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, is based on the memoir of a Jewish woman posing as a Polish aristocrat in German-occupied Poland. The book illuminates the involvement of “Counterfeit Countess” in rescue, relief, and resistance efforts in Lublin. This enthralling story flips the conventional narrative of Polish-Jewish wartime relations and zooms in on the experiences of non-Jewish Poles during World War II. Published by Simon & Schuster in 2024.
Book Website: https://www.counterfeitcountess.com/
Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Associates
Rights Inquiries: joelle@delbourgo.com
Publicist: Rebecca Rozenberg (Simon and Schuster), rebecca.rozenberg@simonandschuster.com
PRAISE
"(...) a genuine contribution to scholarship that is also a memorable, inspiring tale of individual heroism." Michael S. Roth, president of Wesleyan University, author of The Student: A Short History. The Wall Street Journal
"(...) a gripping tale of one woman’s grit and courage in the face of unimaginable terror." Hallel Yadin, archivist at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and a host on the New Books Network podcast’s library science channel. The Jewish Book Council Reviews
"[Janina’s] bravery in the face of Nazi brutality allowed her to save countless lives, and the authors bring her story to life... A fine delineation of personal heroism amid an era of utter human depravity." Kirkus Reviews
“This extensively-documented account serves as powerful testimony.” Booklist
“…a heart-wrenching profile of resilience, ingenuity, and heroism.” Publishers Weekly
“White & Sliwa masterfully piece together the previously untold story of a Jewish mathematician … A full portrait of a woman who saved thousands in Nazi-occupied Poland, with broad appeal for readers interested in Holocaust and eastern European history and survivor’s stories.” Library Journal
"A story of courage, compassion, and cunning so profound that it must be included with the greatest Holocaust literature.” Larry Loftis, New York Times bestselling author of The Watchmaker's Daughter
“You will not put this book down until the very last word -- it is a stunning piece of Holocaust history that will stick with you long after you’re done." Debbie Cenziper, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Citizen 865: The Hunt for Hitler's Hidden Soldiers in America
“A stunning masterpiece of a book about a previously overlooked hero of the war and the Holocaust.” Andrew Nagorski, author of Saving Freud: The Rescuers Who Brought Him To Freedom
“A riveting account of moral courage and an enduring commitment to save lives.” Debórah Dwork, director, Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, The Graduate Center—City University of New York
EDITIONS
SELECTED MEDIA
For the Love of History
In These Times | Stephen Wise Free Synagogue
Warfare of Art and Law Podcast
Łukasz Dudka, "Counterfeit Countess” – historia Żydówki, która uratowała tysiące Polaków w czasie II wojny światowej," Dziennik Związkowy/Polish Daily News, 21 March 2024. Link.
WKYC Cleveland's Leading Local News. Link.
Shira Li Bartov, "A Polish ‘countess’ saved thousands of concentration camp prisoners from the Nazis. No one knew she was a Jew," JTA / Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 12 February 2024. Link.
Peter Sheridan, "Fake aristocrat who hoodwinked the Nazis," Express, 2 February 2024. Link.
Jasper Reese, "The fake 'aristocrat' who fooled the Nazis - and saved thousands of Poles," The Telegraph, 5 January 2024.
UPCOMING EVENTS
January 21, 2025: The Power of One: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles during the Holocaust, Fifty and Better Lecture Series, California Lutheran University, online | Register
PAST EVENTS
December 2024 | “The Counterfeit Countess: The Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles during the Holocaust,” Murray Pantirer Memorial Scholar Lecture, Holocaust Resource Center at Kean University, Union, NJ
November 2024 | Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, Simon Family JCC and United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Virginia Beach, VA
September 2024 | Kent Memorial Library, Kent CT
September 2024 | Rose and Arthur Fallmann Lecture, Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, University of Hartford, Hartford, CT | Community partners: Avon Free Public Library, Holocaust Education Resource and Outreach Center (HERO Center), Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life at the University of Connecticut, and Voices of Hope
August 2024 | MiliM | Virtual
May 2024 | JDC Archives and Jewish Book Council | Virtual
May 2024 | Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors and American Inspiration | Virtual
May 2024 | Classrooms Without Borders and the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre | Virtual
March 2024 | Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland | In conversation with Prof. Anna Hájková | Virtual
March 2024 | Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center | Skokie, IL | Partners: Polish American Congress Illinois Division; Polish Daily News; Women’s Board of Illinois Holocaust Museum; Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago
March 2024 | Books and Books | Coral Gables, FL | Co-sponsored by Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach
March 2024 | The BookMark | Neptune Beach, FL | Partners: Beaches Activists Movement, and the National Organization for Women - Jacksonville, and the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Northeast Florida
March 2024 | Holocaust Museum LA | Los Angeles, CA
March 2024 | Powell’s Books | Portland, OR | With support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and Portland State University
March 2024 | Free Library of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA
March 2024 | Atlanta History Center | Atlanta, GA
February 2024 | Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust | In conversation with Andrew Nagorski | Virtual
February 2024 | United Nations Headquarters’ Bookshop | New York, NY | In conversation with Dr. Debórah Dwork | Organized by the UN Outreach Programme on the Holocaust and United Nations Publications and UN Publications
February 2024 | Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity | The Graduate Center, City University of New York | In conversation with Dr. Debórah Dwork | Virtual
February 2024 | Seminary Coop | Chicago, IL | In partnership with the Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago
February 2024 | Temple Emanuel | Winston-Salem, NC | In conversation with Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker | In partnership with Bookmarks
January 2024 | Riverstone Books | Pittsburgh, PA | In partnership with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh
January 2024 | Chhange/Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education, Brookdale Community College | Virtual
January 2024 | Temple Israel of Bexley | Columbus, OH | In conversation with Prof. Robin Judd | Partners: Gramercy Books, The Jewish Community Center of Greater Columbus, Melton Center for Jewish Studies at The Ohio State University, OSU Department of History, Temple Israel, and Women’s Philanthropy at JewishColumbus
January 2024 | Hudson Library and Historical Society | Hudson, OH | In partnership with Learned Owl Bookshop
January 2024 | Brookline Booksmith | Brookline, MA | In conversation with Judy Rakowsky
October 2023 | “An Unlikely Rescuer: A Jewish Woman Who Saved Thousands of Poles during the Holocaust,” Women in the Holocaust, First International Conference of the Women in the Holocaust International Study Center (Givat Haviva, Israel), held at the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade, Serbia.
September 2023 | “Counterfeit Countess: How One Jewish Woman Saved Poles in Majdanek,” Limmud Atlanta and Southeast, GA.
June 2022 | "Counterfeit Countess: One Woman’s Involvement in Rescue, Relief, and Resistance in Lublin in German-Occupied Poland," Heroines of the Holocaust: New Frameworks of Resistance, Wagner College, NY.
July 2021 | “Counterfeit Countess,” with Barry White, The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, online.