Adam Sharp’s family history research took an expected turn with the announcement of an author talk.
“I am the oldest of seven children; my mother was a Holocaust survivor, and my father an escapee from the Warsaw Ghetto. With my siblings, brother-in-law and nephews, I have been researching my parents’ family history for years. We have accessed library resources, both written and online, to research their histories. For my mother’s history, it also meant going overseas to Poland and Italy to research.
“My father’s history was more difficult to access, as he was estranged from the family from the early 70s until five years before his death when he reconciled with the family. Then, he was already elderly, and ill and he found it difficult to remember detail. There were no documents from his pre- war years.
“We knew he was involved with the Russian Circus, and when we were children, he my siblings had a friendship with the Horowitzes. When we learnt that Sue Smethurst had written a book called ‘The Freedom Circus’, which featured the Horowitz family, we became interested.
“The library organised a Zoom talk from Sue about her book. I jumped at the chance to participate. The talk gave us an opportunity to see how Sue researched the history of the Horowitzes and fill in some gaps in my father’s history. I am also at present accessing some of the references she highlighted in her bibliography, from the library services.
“I was also able to assist Sue in identifying the person in some of her photos in the book. My father!”
