We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Debrianna Obara a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Debrianna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I came up with the idea of my novel, BLOK 42, when I was working at an advertising agency and one of our clients was the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. We were tasked in finding ways to bring forth the mission of the museum to a wider and younger audience.

As a child of immigrants from Poland (who are not Jewish), I had grown up with stories about the Nazi invasion of Poland and then the Russian liberation (which led to decades of occupation under a Communist regime) so I really dove into the project.

During my research, I came across a documentary called “Hitler’s Willing Executioners” and there was a very brief mention of the “brothels of Auschwitz.” I had visited the camp before and never heard of the brothels and started doing research on the topic. What I learned was that this ugly aspect of camp life was not well-known or even examined, as the women forced to work in the brothel were fellow prisoners and the men who visited them were prisoners as well. It was an example of victims victimizing someone weaker and in light of the #Me Too movement and discussions about power dynamics and consent, I wanted to explore the topic further.

It was from that kernel of interest that BLOK 42 was conceived. A lot of WWII history ignores the plight of ordinary Poles who survived these difficult times, and oftentimes, the plight of women is sidelined in favor of stories of soldiers, heroes and battles, so BLOK 42 puts a bright light on how women and children experience war and occupation and the degradations associated with survival.

The book is available on Amazon and at your local bookstore.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an advertising professional who often wrote screenplays, stories and pitch decks. BLOK 42 is my first novel to be published and brings together 20 years of study, observations and rumination about what was life for people who survived the Nazi and Russian occupations of their beloved homeland, Poland.

Having studied Slavistics at the University of Florida, I had the opportunity to learn the Polish language, study Polish literature, and spend a summer aboard at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan Poland. This early exposure set the stage for my eventual novel, and I became ardently interested in learning as much as I could about the history and culture of Poland, especially during WWII.

I am very proud of the research and care that went into writing BLOK 42. While it is not based on any person or actual event, many of the details woven throughout the book came from actual survival stories and it is my hope that the dedication and care that went into crafting the story can be felt on each page. I also hope that BLOK 42 is one of those books that reader’s just can’t put down.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am hoping that this story will add a dimension to the telling of war stories. The realities of women during war seem to be often swept aside or even under the rug, and I want to connect the history of WWII to today’s events. The issues that dominated society in the 1940s remain. Today, with human and sex trafficking at an all-time high, it’s important to remember who often pays the greatest price during war time: women and children. BLOK 42 has a mission to expand one’s thinking about failure of diplomacy and how war corrodes the soul of the oppressers and the oppressed.

I also would like readers of Slavic descent to gain an appreciation of their history and at its heart, BLOK 42 is a love story. So I want my readers to be uplifted by the powerful message of unconditional love, especially during difficult historical times.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Being a first-time author is a story of rejection and perseverance. It is not easy to break through into the publishing world and in order to secure a publisher, one has to get used to a tremendous amount of rejection. It is also very hard to sit alone and write creatively when there is so much negativity and rejection facing the writer.

My advice to anyone who has a story to tell is: WRITE. You may not find your audience at first, but the act of writing and bringing to life one’s vision is a tremendous reward and don’t lose heart. A lot of people say, “One day I’m going to write my novel” and so few people actually get beyond that. If you are diligent in writing, you should be proud of the dedication – whether you find a publisher or an audience, there is pride in knowing you follow your craft and don’t give up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.debriannaobara.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authordebriannaobara/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095179652164
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debriannaobara/

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Michael E.B. Detto