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.