Nechama Tec
Encyclopedia
Nechama Tec is a Professor Emerita of Sociology
at the University of Connecticut
. She received her Ph.D. in sociology at Columbia University, where she studied and worked with the highly-regarded sociologist Daniel Bell, and is a noted Holocaust scholar. Her 1986 book, When Light Pierced the Darkness and her 1984 memoir Dry Tears: The Story of a Lost Childhood both received the Merit of Distinction Award from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rit. She is also author of the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans (Oxford University Press
, 1993, ISBN 0195075951) on which the 2008 film Defiance
is based, as well as a study of women in the holocaust. She was awarded the 1994 International Anne Frank Special Recognition prize for that book.
She was born in Lublin
, Poland
to a family of Polish Jews
in 1931, and was 8 years old in 1939 when Poland was invaded
by Germany. She survived the Holocaust thanks to her life being saved by Polish Catholics. After the war she immigrated to Israel
and later moved to the United States, where she earned a doctorate at Columbia University
.
She is the mother of film director Roland Tec
. Her daughter, Leora Tec, is an attorney who did work in the Nazi Hunter Division of the Justice Department (also known as the OSI, or Office of Special Investigations). Her husband, Dr. Leon Tec, is a noted child psychiatrist and author of Fear of Success and the autobiography, Adventure and Destiny.
Nechama Tec was initially shocked by the changes made in adapting her book to make the film Defiance. The Bielski partisans, for example, never actually went into battle against Third Reich tanks. However, after seeing the film a number of times, she confessed to liking it "more and more." In a joint appearance with Roland Tec at a screening of the film in January, 2011 she denied ever being unhappy with the film, and they both agreed that alterations of the story made for dramatic effect in the film did not alter the essential message of the story.
Dr. Tec was appointed to Council of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and served in 1995 as a Scholar In Residence at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, in Israel.
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
. She received her Ph.D. in sociology at Columbia University, where she studied and worked with the highly-regarded sociologist Daniel Bell, and is a noted Holocaust scholar. Her 1986 book, When Light Pierced the Darkness and her 1984 memoir Dry Tears: The Story of a Lost Childhood both received the Merit of Distinction Award from the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rit. She is also author of the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans (Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
, 1993, ISBN 0195075951) on which the 2008 film Defiance
Defiance (2008 film)
Defiance is a 2008 World War II era film written, produced, and directed by Edward Zwick, set during the occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany. The film is an account of the Bielski partisans, a group led by three Jewish brothers who saved and recruited Jews in Poland during the Second World War...
is based, as well as a study of women in the holocaust. She was awarded the 1994 International Anne Frank Special Recognition prize for that book.
She was born in Lublin
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to a family of Polish Jews
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
in 1931, and was 8 years old in 1939 when Poland was invaded
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
by Germany. She survived the Holocaust thanks to her life being saved by Polish Catholics. After the war she immigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and later moved to the United States, where she earned a doctorate at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
She is the mother of film director Roland Tec
Roland Tec
Roland Tec is an American writer and movie director. His 1997 film All the Rage is widely considered a hallmark of the Queer Indie Film Movement of the '90s for what was then its unprecedented critical view of A-list gay male culture of perfection....
. Her daughter, Leora Tec, is an attorney who did work in the Nazi Hunter Division of the Justice Department (also known as the OSI, or Office of Special Investigations). Her husband, Dr. Leon Tec, is a noted child psychiatrist and author of Fear of Success and the autobiography, Adventure and Destiny.
Nechama Tec was initially shocked by the changes made in adapting her book to make the film Defiance. The Bielski partisans, for example, never actually went into battle against Third Reich tanks. However, after seeing the film a number of times, she confessed to liking it "more and more." In a joint appearance with Roland Tec at a screening of the film in January, 2011 she denied ever being unhappy with the film, and they both agreed that alterations of the story made for dramatic effect in the film did not alter the essential message of the story.
Dr. Tec was appointed to Council of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and served in 1995 as a Scholar In Residence at the International Institute for Holocaust Research at Yad Vashem, in Israel.
Works
- Letters of Hope and Despair. University Press: Cambridge 2007
- Resilience and Courage: Women, Men, and the Holocaust. University Press: Yale 2003
- Defiance: The Bielski Partisans. University Press: Oxford 1993
- In The Lion's Den: The Life of Oswald Rufeisen. University Press: Oxford 1990
- When Light Pierced the Darkness: Christian Rescue of Jews in Nazi-Occupied Poland. University Press: Oxford 1986
- Dry Tears: The Story of a Lost Childhood. University Press: Oxford 1984
- Grass Is Green in Suburbia: A Sociological Study of Adolescent Usage of Illicit Drugs. Libra Pub 1974
External links
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Nechama Tec from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum