Zylberberg, Michael (1906-1971): Personal papers

Scope and Content

Papers of Michael Zylberberg, 1950-1971, including personal correspondence, 1966-1971; autobiographical account and articles by Zylberberg, 1950-1968 and nd.

Administrative / Biographical History

Michael Zylberberg was born in Plotsk, Poland, 1906, into a rabbinical family. He qualified to teach Hebraic history and literature in Warsaw and proceeded to work in a number of schools there, 1933-1939. After the outbreak of World War Two he was active in the Warsaw ghetto organising illegal schools for thousands of homeless children. After the Warsaw ghetto rising in 1943 he managed to escape to the Aryan side of Warsaw, where he lived for 2 years passing off as a Christian.

Years after the end of the war he was contacted by someone who had discovered his manuscript diary and notes. He published his diary under the title A Warsaw Diary in 1969. He also contributed many articles and book reviews on the subject of the Holocaust to the Jewish Chronicle .

He became secretary of the British section of the Yivo Institute, and was a member of the Association of Jewish Journalists and of the World Jewish Congress. He died in 1971.

Arrangement

Chronological by material type.

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Zylberberg family

Other Finding Aids

Description exists to this archive on the Wiener Library's online catalogue www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

Archivist's Note

Entry compiled by Howard Falksohn.

Conditions Governing Use

Copies can be made for personal use. Permission must be sought for publication.