Miriam Akavia

Miriam Akavia (1927-2015) was born in Cracow, Poland. During World War II, she was interned in the Cracow Ghetto, Plaszow, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. She arrived in pre-state Israel in 1946. Akavia, who was a registered nurse, also studied literature and history at Tel Aviv University. She worked in the Jewish Agency, served as Israel's cultural attache in Stockholm and Budapest, and was a translator of Polish and Hebrew literature.
Akavia began publishing in 1975, describing her childhood as well as her Holocaust and post-war experiences. She published fiction, books for children and youth, and non-fiction. She received the Yad Vashem Prize (1978), the Sec Prize (1985), the Korczak Prize (Germany, 1988) and the Prime Minister's Prize (1993).