by Arnold Zable
Except for Lily Varvarigos and her daughter Dora, all personal names in the story of Lily’s passing have been changed to protect privacy. Omeros is also an assumed name.
In Athens, Andrea Demetriou led me to Iakovos Kambanellis. The English-language edition of Iakovos Kambanellis’s memoir, Mauthausen, was translated by Gail Holst-Warhaft and published by Kedron, Athens, October 1995. For the lyrics of the song cycle ‘Mauthausen Cantata’ I worked from a translation by Julie Dennis.
Dimitri Dollis helped with the journey to Thessaloniki. Members of the Jewish community there were generous with their tales, especially Leon Benmajor who told me his story over a number of meetings. The essays of Yolanda Willis Avrams remain an inspiration. She continues to document, and lecture on, the fate of Greek Jewry throughout the US.
There are several versions of the rescue of the Jews of Zakynthos. I have relied on a number of sources, including information provided by the Simon Wiesanthal Center, LA, California. The extract from the ‘Diary of Master Thomas Dallam, 1599–1600’, appears in The Pursuit of Greece, Philip Sherrard, published by John Murray. The details of the rescue of the refugees on board the Brenier are based on newspaper sources, including articles published in the Greek daily Ta Nea, 8 November 2001.
The writing of ‘The Treasure’ was greatly assisted by discussions with Genia Tigel, Rachel Levita and Rita Gawenda. Moshe Potashinski serialised his memoirs in the Yiddishe Post and Di Yiddishe Naies, under the title ‘117654 Tells’. I also relied upon interviews with, and the archives of, Mila’s brother David Waislitz; The Dybbuk and Other Writings, S. Ansky, edited by D. G. Roskies, Schoken Books, New York, 1992; and Vagabond Stars, Nahma Sandrow, Harper & Row, New York, 1977.
Melekh Ravich’s Australian journeys were recreated from an album of his photographs, articles published in the Australian Jewish Herald in the 1930s, and from his accounts of his journey to outback Australia. These travel writings were initially published in Yiddish newspapers in Poland. Ravich’s daughter, Ruth Bergner, introduced me to and helped me translate some of her father’s work, including his memoir Continents and Oceans. Yosl Bergner provided additional anecdotes about his wandering father. Extracts of Peretz Hirschbein’s travel journals, Peoples and Lands, were published in Yiddish in The Australian Jewish Almanac, 1937.
Books written by my mother’s ‘holy trinity’ include: The New House, Herz Bergner, Kadimah, Melbourne, 1941; Between Sky and Sea, Herz Bergner, translated by Judah Waten, Dolphin Publications, Melbourne, 1946; Light and Shadow, Herz Bergner, translated by Alec Braizblatt, Georgian House, Melbourne, 1963; Derzeilungen fun Australie, Melbourne, 1939; Collected Writings, Pinchas Goldhar, York Press, Melbourne, 1949.
Kevin Brophy and the School of Creative Arts, University of Melbourne, provided support for research into Yiddish writers in Australia and migration. Michael Heyward is an editor and publisher with a sharp insight into the themes that link the stories together, as well as an eye for detail. He knows how to encourage and inspire a writer. Patty Brown read the book in an early draft. Without her enthusiasm I would not have embarked upon the project. Melanie Ostell contributed to the editing process, and Chong Wengho’s wonderful cover design helped spur on the writing.
I wish to acknowledge Toula Nikolaou and Yanni Rigos who have their own interpretation, and tales, of what it means to be the children of Lily and Athanassios Varvarigos.
Dora, my wife, has assisted me in many ways, from interpreting Greek conversations to the collecting of tales, and discussions of themes. The Ithacan stories owe much to Dora’s insights, support and family stories. We undertook journeys to Ithaca in 1987, 1990, and, with our son Alexander in 1997. We will return again. It has become a second home.
A NOTE ON SPELLING
The spelling of placenames in Greece have many variations. Often it comes down to personal preferences from a variety of choices. The island of Zakynthos is also known as Zante, and Ithaca as Ithaki. The names of towns and villages offer a similar challenge. The name of Lukas Karrer, mayor of Zakynthos in 1944, also has several variations in spelling. I have used nonno and nonna for ‘grandmother’ and ‘grandfather’ since they are the terms used in the Ionian Islands, as distinct from most other areas of Greece. I have preferred the terms ‘Annihilation’ and its Hebrew equivalent ‘Shoah’ when referring to the Holocaust.