Nitza Spiro Hebrew Studies

Registered Charity No 1070926

Book Launch: From Krakow to Berkeley

Spiro Ark is delighted to present the official launch of: From Krakow to Berkeley, Coming out of Hiding by Anna Rabkin.

  • What happens to a child whose early life is marked by trauma and loss?
  • Can a refugee whose earliest memories are of hiding in fear learn to step into the public eye?
  • Can a reviled other, find the courage to speak out?

Anna Rabkin’s comfortable childhood in Krakow ended abruptly when her Jewish family
fled both Communists and Nazis during World War Two. Smuggled out of the Lemberg
ghetto, only she and her brother survived. In 1946 a kindertransport took Anna to
England and the bewildering world of British boarding schools. With help from
relatives, Anna moved to New York where she met her husband; they found a new life,
in the college town of Berkeley, California. The turbulent 1960s drew Anna into city
politics. Elected to office in 1979, Anna joins one of the most progressive – and contentious –
governments in the country. She completes her journey by becoming a civic leader; from
the Holocaust to the Cold War, the Free Speech Movement to the women’s movement,
international incidents to hyper-local political battles.

Anna Rabkin holds master’s degrees in City Planning and in History. She was elected
City Auditor of Berkeley, California in 1979, and is the co-author of Public Libraries:
Travel Treasures of the American West.