Winner of Royal Dragonfly Book Award
2019 First Place Historical – Nonfiction
2019 First Place – Memoir
Tadeusz Haska and Stefanie Naumann
How Languages Saved Me
A Polish Story of Survival
Orphaned in Poland at the age of thirteen, Tadeusz “Tad” Haska survived World War II on the run—narrowly evading the Nazis every step of the way. After the war, he daringly escaped jail by the Soviet Secret Police, fled to Sweden and launched an elaborate plan to smuggle his wife in a coffin on an all-male naval ship. Discover how Tad’s knowledge of nine languages helped him survive in the face of unspeakable adversity.
Author
Stefanie Naumann
Stefanie Naumann, granddaughter of the book’s co-author, is a an award-winning author, and Professor of Management in the Eberhardt School of Business at University of the Pacific, where she has taught for 20 years. She earned her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, and has published over 30 journal articles. She is a 20+ year member of the Academy of Management, a lifetime member of the Polish American Genealogical Society of America, and has earned awards for her research, teaching, and service.
Her book, How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival, won 1st place in the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the biography/memoir/autobiography and historical nonfiction categories, 1st place in the 2020 Maxy Awards in the nonfiction category, and 1st place in the 2020 Global Ebook Awards in the memoir, history non-fiction, and the Dan Poynter Legacy Award “Best of” categories.
Author
Tadeusz Haska
Tadeusz Haska was born in 1919 in Mikołajki, Poland, and died in Monterey, California, in 2012. Orphaned at the age of 13, he used his knowledge of nine languages to survive World War II. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1949, where he earned his Ph.D. at University of California, Berkeley in Linguistics in his ninth language — English. He taught, and served as chairman, in the Polish Department at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA for 35 years. His work was featured on the TV program The Big Picture.
“When I was arrested my whole world crumbled. I knew that leaders of political parties had been arrested, and never heard from again. My only chance at survival was to find a way to escape from the jail.”
—Excerpt, Tadeusz “Tad” Haska
Events
Saturday August 10, 2019
Barnes & Noble - Boston, MA
4:00 pm
Book Talk followed by Q & A
Book Signing
Prudential Center
800 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02199
Saturday September 21, 2019
Seaside Library - Seaside, CA
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Book Talk followed by Q & A
Book Signing
Refreshments will be served
550 Harcourt Avenue
Seaside, CA 93955
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Barnes & Noble - Stockton, CA
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Book Talk followed by Q & A
Book Signing
Weberstown Mall
4950 Pacific Avenue
Stockton, CA 95207
Saturday October 26, 2019
Keynote Speaker at Polish American Club of Sacramento Annual Heritage Dinner
6:00 – 9:00 pm
An authentic Polish dinner will be served, Stefanie Naumann will discuss her book, How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival, and a Polish children’s choir from Davis will perform Polish songs. All are welcome, but reservations are required, and limited to the first 100 attendees. E-mail PolishClubEvent[at]gmail.com to reserve a seat. View the flyer here.
327 Main Street
Roseville, CA 95678
Blog
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Join my free virtual book talk Tuesday at 3:00 – 4:00 pm PST
Szczęśliwego nowego roku! (Happy New Year in Polish!) I hope you are doing well. Tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 9) at 3:00 pm PST, the Louisiana State University Department of Foreign Languages & Literatures is sponsoring my free virtual book talk about my grandfather...
Find out my Favorite Place in America!
Dear readers and friends, Wow, a lot has changed in the world since I last checked in. Our daughter just returned safely from Semester at Sea, taking college classes on a ship while traveling the world. I hope you all are staying healthy and safe. Later today I will...
First Place in the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards
Greetings, readers & friends! I have some exciting news to share. My book, How Languages Saved Me: A Polish Story of Survival, earned First Place in two categories of the 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards: Historical Nonfiction and Biography/Memoir/Autobiography....
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