1st International Egodocumental Network Conference
Vilnius University, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, the University of Lodz, and the Egodocumental Research Group (https://egodocuments.umk.pl) organise an international conference focusing on research, development, and changing perceptions of egodocuments in the twenty-first century. The conference aims to bring together scholars from different disciplines to share their insights and to encourage interdisciplinary studies of egodocuments.
The conference will also be the first meeting of the International Egodocumental Network established in December 2023 by the Egodocumental Research Group (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and the University of Lodz) to unite scholars from different disciplines working on egodocuments. It provides a platform for discussion, collaboration, and exchange of information between the participants, as well as online research seminars organized twice a year. In this dimension, our conference continues two editions of the Scientific Symposium "Egodocuments, Life-Writing and Autobiographical Texts..." organized at NCU in Toruń in 2022 and 2024.
Keynote speakers
Dr. Nataliia Voloshkova
Kazimierz Wielki University and Oxford Brookes University
Prof. Leona Toker
Hebrew University and Shalem Academic College
Prof. François-Joseph Ruggiu
Sorbonne Université, CNRS and Oxford University
Pnina Rosenberg
Bar Ilan University
Eva Gabanyi, Almanac of Memoirs: A Portrait of a Resilient Woman through her Autographic Diary and Letters
Eva Gabanyi’s Almanac of Memories, created in 1944 at Rajsko, a sub-camp of Auschwitz, was crafted during her assignment to the Plant Breeding Detail, where researchers studied kok-sagyz, a dandelion used to produce rubber, which was an essential material for the Third Reich. At first glance, the Almanac appears to be an escapist journey through a fantastical realm. However, beneath its fairy-tale style lies a poignant first-hand account of the artist’s camp life, her longing for freedom, and her desire to reclaim control over her fate.
One notable entry, “Ball in Rajsko”, depicts Gabanyi and her fellow inmate Sophie Manela as dancing, anthropomorphized dandelions, with the elder Gabanyi protecting and guiding the younger one – a scene that foreshadows their eventual successful escape from the camp.
After their escape, their paths diverged: Manela immigrated to Israel while Gabanyi returned to Slovakia. Twenty years later, Gabanyi traced her friend and resumed an epistolary relationship, sharing her post-war nomadic experiences.
This paper aims to portray a woman who defied the confines of the camp and the oppressive realities of a totalitarian regime in post-war Europe, drawing upon the confessional testimonies found in her diary and letters.
