“Unveiling the Past: Joanna Rubin Dranger’s Graphic Memoir Reveals Hidden Stories of Resilience and Remembrance”
HMM: You chronicle some of the research in this book, both archival and oral histories, in the book itself, and the emotional stress involved with comparing and verifying your family stories, when you knew them, with records at places like Yad Vashem. Can you share a bit about your research process?
JRD: The research process was both deeply rewarding and emotionally exhausting. I started with what I thought I knew—family stories, photos, recorded interviews, anecdotes, and scattered pieces of information passed down through generations. But I quickly realized that there were gaps, contradictions, and, most painfully, forgotten names.
