In 1972, retired, she became a resident of Surfside, having come to a new life in the United States in 1954. A widow, alone with her memories, she was shocked one day while watching a television talk show featuring other victims of the Holocaust. Some in the audience denied the truth of the events of which the victims spoke. Angry, Penney began a catharsis of recollection that lasted more than 13 years, said her sister Zofia Griffen. The result was a book, published by Shengold Publishers of New York in 1988, called I Was There . I was opposed to it at first. It was very painful. I didn’t want to know the details of how our mother died,” Griffen said. “She carried that load for many years. I was afraid she would have a nervous breakdown. But she was so persistent.” Penney wrote in Polish. It took Griffen three years to translate the book into English. Every translation was a shared moment. The purpose was not to make the talk show circuit. It was this: “Simply so it doesn’t happen again,” said Griffen. “Her main worry was that the memory of the Holocaust would disappear. No matter what our heritage, our histories should be cherished,” she concluded. I Was There has been recorded on tape by The National Foundation for the Blind. Penney left an autographed copy of I Was There for her sister, who read the words out loud again. They remain captured, frozen. “I have kept my promise to bear witness. Now it is in
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