It is important to remember the heroes of the Holocaust, like Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg, who risked their lives to save others. Their stories remind us of the resilience and bravery of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable evil.
As we reflect on the past and honor those who fought against injustice, let us also strive to create a more just and compassionate world today. Let us stand up against hatred and discrimination in all its forms, and work towards a future where such atrocities can never happen again.
Dr. Josephine Janina Mehlberg’s legacy lives on in the pages of history and in the hearts of those who remember her courage. May we never forget the sacrifices she made and the lives she saved, and may her story inspire us to always choose compassion and kindness in the face of darkness.
Mehlberg was a committed Polish patriot who, while undercover, worked with an array of individuals of various ideological stripes to achieve her goals and the goals of the Polish resistance and Poland’s Government-in-Exile. As this book is about the Holocaust and one woman’s survival strategy, the book lays bare the dangers of antisemitic language and images that resulted in a racist ideology, leading to the systematic persecution and murder of millions of Jews.
What Can We Learn from Janina’s Story?
While things may seem bleak due to the rise in antisemitism and the war in Israel, Janina’s story gives readers hope and inspires them to be brave, always standing up for what’s right.
It was not lack of fear but rather obstinate determination that enabled her to negotiate successfully with the Germans.
“One lesson is that one person can make a difference, and especially when acting in the context of a network,” said Joanna. “Janina made decisions independently to engage in highly visible and dangerous work, but she could not have done what she did without the support and involvement of an entire group, composed mainly of other women. These were Polish women who devised methods to smuggle food and medicine to prisoners and to establish lines of communication. They prepared food, fundraised, procured medical items, traveled as couriers, conducted rescue operations, and more.”
Janina also didn’t discriminate when it came to helping people. She wanted to spread goodness and love and aid to whomever she could.
“Janina believed in justice, that people should be held accountable for their actions, but for herself, she decided not to judge others, realizing that none of us is completely defined by either the best or the worst that we do,” Elizabeth said. “She wrote that she was just one person in ‘the vast suffering human family,’ and she viewed all other humans as members of that family. If they were suffering, then she wanted to help them; if they were despairing, then she sought to give them hope.”
While superheroes don’t exist, like Janina, we all have the ability to do what is just and make a difference in the world. That’s the profound lesson readers can learn from “The Counterfeit Countess.”
“Janina admitted that she was not fearless, which I think makes what she did so much more heroic,” said Elizabeth. “It was not lack of fear but rather obstinate determination that enabled her to negotiate successfully with the Germans. She did not take ‘no’ as a final answer but simply looked for ways to get a different answer, often by going over the heads of the officials who refused her. She had a knack for framing her requests as common-sense measures that were in the Germans’ interest. And when she was told ‘yes,’ she considered it an invitation to ask for more.”