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Many, many people helped me produce Escape from Siberia, Escape from Memory. I am very appreciative, I thank them from the bottom of my heart.
First of all, publications by Teruo Matsumoto and Wieslaw Theiss (in Polish, English and Japanese) laid the groundwork for my research of the Siberian Children. My wife, Teresa, prodded me to turn a simple chronology of my father's life into a book. I resisted, a book seemed too formidable a task. My initial product was disjointed as I struggled to fit a memoir of Pawel Wojdak's life into an exposition of Polish history. A critique by David Lefebure resulted in a full-scale restructure of the text to blend the two streams into a narrative. Maps were an absolute necessity for readers unfamiliar with eastern Europe and even less knowledgeable of Siberia. Johanna Pfalz stepped in, diving deep into digital history to make maps with national boundaries before and after World War I, and again, after World War II. Yumi Yoshida and Magdalena Polus, and Malgorzata Wozniak, for their respective organizations, welcomed me to events in Poland that introduced me to many other descendants of Siberian Children. These contacts became friends. Sharing of their stories, some in English and some in Polish, gave further insight and depth to my story. I do not speak Polish. Therefore, some articles, including a book by Wieslaw Theiss, sent to me by Anna Domaradzka, required Google-assisted translation, a painstakingly slow process. Translation of key passages and testimonies was refined by Teresa Alder, who was born in Lvov, raised in Krakow, and conveniently, lives close to me in Canada. In Poland, Slawomir Samaradakiewicz provided insight into Polish and German phonetics, and shared his discovery of the ship manifest of my father's arrival in Seattle. Genealogists Michal Gierszon and Adrian Jarosz pursued my theory of the name of Pawel Wojdak's father, that led to a small village in Poland, and a possible rationale for my (perhaps) grandfather's exile. Teresa and I followed up in Poland where, incredibly, her faith in spiritual guidance led us to a Wojdak mauseleum. Karol Suchocki, passionate about Polish history, uncovered more genealogical information from Polish databases. Bartosz Boleslawski, Katarzyna Nowak, Akinori Nishikawa and Karol Suchocki gave thoughtful reviews of an advance-reader-copy. Condensed versions appear in my book. Finally, the skill of my support team at Friesen Press was vital to create a professional end-result. They comprise Oluwanifemi (Nife), leader and publishing specialist, Felicity who designed the cover and layout of the text, unnamed copy and proof editors, and Drew, who created this website and will guide more promotional activities. Thank you all! |
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