“Survival is sweet revenge”– A displaced child’s search for identity and belonging

Anna Rabkin: “Survival is sweet revenge”– A displaced child’s search for identity and belonging • June 9, 2019

Photo courtesy of Anna Rabkin

Anna Rabkin was born in Krakow, Poland. World War II forced her family to flee the invading German army. Her family was hunted by Communists and persecuted by the Nazis, only Anna and her brother survived. Later she emigrated, first to New York and then, with her husband, to the political hotbed of Berkeley. While a student at UCB, she raised two children, worked in local politics, and in 1979 was elected to city office. When she retired, Anna chaired the  Berkeley Public Library Foundation’s capital campaign for the Downtown Library.

The author of From Krakow to Berkeley: Coming out of Hiding, she holds master’s degrees in City Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and in History from California State University, East Bay. 

If you would like to view our archive video of the presentation, contact Dr. Marion Gerlind for access. You can watch a trailer here.