In Memoriam: Michał Sobelman

By Stephen Naron - September 12, 2024

We are saddened to hear of the death of Michał Sobelman, Polish-Israeli historian and translator. He left Poland due to the antisemitic campaign launched in March 1968, but later returned in 1992 and became spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Warsaw. Sobelman conducted 13 interviews for the Fortunoff Archive, among them one with Roma survivor Krystyna Gil.

May his memory be a blessing.

More about Sobelman’s remarkable life and impact (in Polish):

https://wyborcza.pl/7,75517,31296931,nie-zyje-michal-sobelman-pisarz-i-tlumacz-literatury-hebrajskiej.html

https://www.o2.pl/informacje/nie-zyje-znany-tlumacz-michal-sobelman-zmarl-w-wieku-71-lat-7070018481167296a

You can listen to Sobelman interviewing three witnesses, Helena Balicka Kozłowska, Henryk Prajs, and Władysława Zawistowska, all of which are part of our critical edition series:

https://editions.fortunoff.library.yale.edu/essay/hvt-3171

https://editions.fortunoff.library.yale.edu/essay/hvt-3164

https://editions.fortunoff.library.yale.edu/essay/hvt-3169