Press

'THE RIGHT TIME TO SPEAK’ AUTHOR ANETA WEINREICH AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW

Aneta Weinreich’s remarkable story was unspoken for nearly 70 years, so she knew it was The Right Time to Speak in 2012, after a sudden illness left her temporarily unable to talk. While in hospital under treatment of a Palestinian surgeon this Holocaust survivor determined to leave her family a legacy of positive life lessons borne from her experience.

And so, speak she did! Over the following three years, this indomitable woman broke her silence, dictating her life-and-near-death story to her beloved husband Joseph, who wrote each word by hand. 

This autobiography, The Right Time to Speak, details how one Jewish woman and her family persevered through one of history’s darkest periods. Harrowing accounts of wartime Krakow include 11-year-old Aneta witnessing infanticide while she hid in a Ghetto building attic as those outside were herded up and murdered – as well as details of life in the notorious Plaszow Labour Camp and eventual escape across Europe. Most inspiring is how, after those blackest and most arduous of times, she successfully moved forward with exceptional dignity and without bitterness, witnessing the birth of Israel and eventually settling on the other side of the world in Australia. To quote Aneta, “Sometimes the wheel of fortune is up, sometimes the wheel is down, but the wheel is always turning.”

A template of how anyone might approach their future, it’s a tale of Aneta’s determination to achieve post-war happiness, and to promote tolerance and understanding, balanced with accounts of personal re-invention and  young Aneta and Joseph finding love. The book narrates how Aneta used design and tailoring skills learned during the Nazi regime to create instant on-demand garments for modern Australian women, how together the young couple grew a family, and how they created a flourishing global business in their new land.

Aneta’s wonderfully dry humour is evident throughout the book, and beautifully illustrated in the anecdote of how she and her husband Joseph managed to persuade renowned architect Harry Seidler to accept a design commission for their now heritage-listed home, Weinreich House in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, while he was at the busiest point of his career and designing Australia Square.

Having had their own childhoods stolen, the Weinreichs only revealed their early experiences to their adult children in 1993 while watching the movie Schindler’s List. Aneta’s own father appears as number 41 on the list, with many scenes set in her old neighbourhood. 

The bravery of two Christian women who helped Aneta’s family escape certain death – and her mother’s heroic actions to repeatedly save her life, as well as the other children she oversaw, along with the story of the Aneta’s family’s quest to honour the Christian women at Yad Vashem. In Aneta’s own words, “I believe not everyone in the world is evil.”

This book is undeniably timely. How we overcome intolerance and hate are important current issues. The title is perfect, not only because of Aneta’s personal intentions but now is also The Right Time to Speak about the resurgence of religious and racial intolerance globally.

For further interview enquiries contact:

Paula Crawford, paulagcrawford@gmail.com mobile +61 413 018 356

Published by the Sydney Jewish Museum: https://sydneyjewishmuseum.com.au/shop/products/books/the-right-time-to-speak/