Discovering the past
Discovering the past
Embedded Files
Written by Adam Rutkowski, September 2020
Following settlement of the Drobot families in the US, and our family in Australia, contact between the members of the Djament clan were limited to occasional exchanges between the three surviving brothers. It is well known that the twins Jan and Stefan had a major disagreement sometime in the 1950's however the reason for this has never been revealed. It was however clear that they were both very secretive, difficult to live with and that they would rarely listen to any advice or suggestions offered by other members of the family. Perhaps their experiences during the war had taught them never to trust anyone, even their closest relatives.
By the late 1980s the young Djaments were grown up. Since Janek was not keen on divulging any family secrets, Eve wrote to Julek in 1989 asking him for details about her family as he seemed to be the only one prepared to divulge any of the closely guarded 'secrets' or discuss any aspects relating to the Djament family history. He replied to her in his letter in June 1989. Meanwhile Vladimir visited Australia on his way to a sabbatical in New Zealand and suggested that Julek writes his memoirs which he duly did in 1991. Eve, Jack and daughter Thalia came to Sydney in early 1992. A copy of Julek's memoirs was sent to Frank and Eve in early 1993.
A new means of communication, in the form of email became available in the late 1990s. I connected with Frank and Eve and we started regular correspondence. At this time Stefan had already fallen ill and Frank wrote to Janek asking for some information about his family. Janek replied to him in June 1993 however was not keen on divulging any information beyond stating that he was, at his "great expense and danger", responsible for bringing Stefan's family to the US.. Frank asked him to provide some details, however in his reply dated 30th of June 1993 he refused to elaborate. Meanwhile Frank contacted Julek and a flurry of letters from my father to Frank followed during 1993. In 1993 I took Ann for a skiing trip to the US and we met up with Frank and Maureen, also Eve and Jack in Toronto. We laso managed to have dinner at Adam D's place with Janek and Wanda. I cannot recall discussing the past at any of these brief meetings. Perhaps we all felt that this topic was taboo ?
In the letter of the 10th June 1993 Julek suggests that the best source of information regarding Stefan and Janek's experiences would be his mother, Natalie. Maybe Frank could not get sufficient detail from his mother, because he pursued some more information from Julek. Another letter followed in on the 29th June 1993 and in the subsequent letter in 13th July 1993 he describes how Stefan, through his old friend Karol Mysels got in touch with their second cousin Bernard Diament in the US who helped to procure a US visa for him and Janek (who was, at that stage not married) to the US. Copies of the letters are in the Stefan Memorabilia page of this site.
In the letter dated 30th July 1993 there is a reference to an article in the NY Times which describes old family photos found in Columbus, Ohio. This was of course concocted by Frank and very much appreciated by Julek.In this letter Julek also does not want to discuss the reasons for the feud between Stefan and Janek.
In july 1993 Frank and Maureen spent a weekend in Columbus and Frank took the opportunity to "interview" his mother Natalie about the Djaments. In a letter which he sent to me and Eve in July 1993 he reports what his mother told him. I showed my father this letter and his reply to Frank on the 16th September 1993 is very illuminating.
The last letter was sent to Eve in November 1993. This was of course after Eve, Jack and Thalia visited Australia in 1992. As part of his memoirs work, Julek sketched out a family tree, which he sent to Eve and Frank. In this letter he expresses pleasure that Eve and Frank have made contact, and also provides some comments regarding the Sandhaus family from which his mother and our grandmother Chave descended.
Following settlement of the Drobot families in the US, and our family in Australia, contact between the members of the Djament clan were limited to occasional exchanges between the three surviving brothers. It is well known that the twins Jan and Stefan had a major disagreement sometime in the 1950's however the reason for this has never been revealed. It was however clear that they were both very secretive, difficult to live with and that they would rarely listen to any advice or suggestions offered by other members of the family. Perhaps their experiences during the war had taught them never to trust anyone, even their closest relatives.
By the late 1980s the young Djaments were grown up. Since Janek was not keen on divulging any family secrets, Eve wrote to Julek in 1989 asking him for details about her family as he seemed to be the only one prepared to divulge any of the closely guarded 'secrets' or discuss any aspects relating to the Djament family history. He replied to her in his letter in June 1989. Meanwhile Vladimir visited Australia on his way to a sabbatical in New Zealand and suggested that Julek writes his memoirs which he duly did in 1991. Eve, Jack and daughter Thalia came to Sydney in early 1992. A copy of Julek's memoirs was sent to Frank and Eve in early 1993.
A new means of communication, in the form of email became available in the late 1990s. I connected with Frank and Eve and we started regular correspondence. At this time Stefan had already fallen ill and Frank wrote to Janek asking for some information about his family. Janek replied to him in June 1993 however was not keen on divulging any information beyond stating that he was, at his "great expense and danger", responsible for bringing Stefan's family to the US.. Frank asked him to provide some details, however in his reply dated 30th of June 1993 he refused to elaborate. Meanwhile Frank contacted Julek and a flurry of letters from my father to Frank followed during 1993. In 1993 I took Ann for a skiing trip to the US and we met up with Frank and Maureen, also Eve and Jack in Toronto. We laso managed to have dinner at Adam D's place with Janek and Wanda. I cannot recall discussing the past at any of these brief meetings. Perhaps we all felt that this topic was taboo ?
In the letter of the 10th June 1993 Julek suggests that the best source of information regarding Stefan and Janek's experiences would be his mother, Natalie. Maybe Frank could not get sufficient detail from his mother, because he pursued some more information from Julek. Another letter followed in on the 29th June 1993 and in the subsequent letter in 13th July 1993 he describes how Stefan, through his old friend Karol Mysels got in touch with their second cousin Bernard Diament in the US who helped to procure a US visa for him and Janek (who was, at that stage not married) to the US. Copies of the letters are in the Stefan Memorabilia page of this site.
In the letter dated 30th July 1993 there is a reference to an article in the NY Times which describes old family photos found in Columbus, Ohio. This was of course concocted by Frank and very much appreciated by Julek.In this letter Julek also does not want to discuss the reasons for the feud between Stefan and Janek.
In july 1993 Frank and Maureen spent a weekend in Columbus and Frank took the opportunity to "interview" his mother Natalie about the Djaments. In a letter which he sent to me and Eve in July 1993 he reports what his mother told him. I showed my father this letter and his reply to Frank on the 16th September 1993 is very illuminating.
The last letter was sent to Eve in November 1993. This was of course after Eve, Jack and Thalia visited Australia in 1992. As part of his memoirs work, Julek sketched out a family tree, which he sent to Eve and Frank. In this letter he expresses pleasure that Eve and Frank have made contact, and also provides some comments regarding the Sandhaus family from which his mother and our grandmother Chave descended.
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