Zenia Larsson | |
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Born | Łódź, Poland | 2 April 1922
Died | 4 September 2007 Stockholm, Sweden | (aged 85)
Occupation | Writer, sculptor |
Language | Swedish |
Zenia Szajna Larsson, née Marcinkowska (1922–2007) was a Polish-Swedish [1] writer and sculptor of Jewish descent. Larsson was a Holocaust survivor who was among the first in Sweden to describe their war experience.
She was born on 2 April, 1922 in Łódź, [2] as Zenia Marcinkowska. [3] She grew up in a working-class neighbourhood [2] and became friends with Chava Rosenfarb, with whom she later exchanged letters for many years. [4] In the years 1940–1944 she was confined in the Łódź Ghetto. [2] During this time, Zenia's father committed suicide so that his wife and daughter could get his food rations; it was Rosenfarb who discovered the body. [4] After the liquidation of the ghetto, Zenia was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated in April 1945. [2] With the help of the Red Cross, she emigrated to Sweden in August of the same year. [5]
In Sweden, she first started studying at Konstfack, then moved on to the Royal Institute of Art, [5] where she studied sculpture with Eric Grate. [2] Working with such materials as wood, terracotta, plaster and marble, Larsson chiefly worked on character studies and portraits, including a portrait of Astrid Lindgren. [2] Her works in public spaces include the Vandraren sculpture in Falun. [2]
In 1960, Larsson made her debut as a writer with the autobiographical novel Skuggorna vid träbron, [2] in which she described the experience of World War II from the point of view of her alter ego, a girl named Paula Levin. [2] [5] It was a first instalment in a war trilogy, which also includes Lang är gryningen (1961) and Livet till mötes (1962). [2] [3] Thus, Larsson became one of the first Holocaust survivors in Sweden to describe their war experiences. [2] [4]
Larsson's literary output includes a number of novels, short stories, essays and radio plays. [2] She also published her letters to Chava Rosenfarb in a collection entitled Brev Fran En Ny Verk Lighet (1972). [5]
Zenia Larsson died on 4 September, 2007 [2] in Stockholm. [3]
Zenia Larsson | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Łódź, Poland | 2 April 1922
Died | 4 September 2007 Stockholm, Sweden | (aged 85)
Occupation | Writer, sculptor |
Language | Swedish |
Zenia Szajna Larsson, née Marcinkowska (1922–2007) was a Polish-Swedish [1] writer and sculptor of Jewish descent. Larsson was a Holocaust survivor who was among the first in Sweden to describe their war experience.
She was born on 2 April, 1922 in Łódź, [2] as Zenia Marcinkowska. [3] She grew up in a working-class neighbourhood [2] and became friends with Chava Rosenfarb, with whom she later exchanged letters for many years. [4] In the years 1940–1944 she was confined in the Łódź Ghetto. [2] During this time, Zenia's father committed suicide so that his wife and daughter could get his food rations; it was Rosenfarb who discovered the body. [4] After the liquidation of the ghetto, Zenia was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, and then moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated in April 1945. [2] With the help of the Red Cross, she emigrated to Sweden in August of the same year. [5]
In Sweden, she first started studying at Konstfack, then moved on to the Royal Institute of Art, [5] where she studied sculpture with Eric Grate. [2] Working with such materials as wood, terracotta, plaster and marble, Larsson chiefly worked on character studies and portraits, including a portrait of Astrid Lindgren. [2] Her works in public spaces include the Vandraren sculpture in Falun. [2]
In 1960, Larsson made her debut as a writer with the autobiographical novel Skuggorna vid träbron, [2] in which she described the experience of World War II from the point of view of her alter ego, a girl named Paula Levin. [2] [5] It was a first instalment in a war trilogy, which also includes Lang är gryningen (1961) and Livet till mötes (1962). [2] [3] Thus, Larsson became one of the first Holocaust survivors in Sweden to describe their war experiences. [2] [4]
Larsson's literary output includes a number of novels, short stories, essays and radio plays. [2] She also published her letters to Chava Rosenfarb in a collection entitled Brev Fran En Ny Verk Lighet (1972). [5]
Zenia Larsson died on 4 September, 2007 [2] in Stockholm. [3]