Richard L. Rashke (born 1936) is an American journalist, teacher and author, who has written non-fiction books, as well as plays and screenplays. He is especially known for his history, ''Escape from Sobibor,'' first published in 1982, an account of the mass escape in October 1943 of hundreds of Jewish prisoners from the

extermination camp Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...

Sobibor Sobibor ( ; ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), ...

in German-occupied Poland. The book was adapted as a 1987 TV movie by the same name.

Early life and education

Richard Rashke was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

, to Guy and Angeline (Luksich) Rashke. He had an older brother Donald. Richard attended local schools and has a master's degree in journalism from American University.

Literary career

After working as a journalist, Rashke started pursuing his own topics. His first book, ''The deacon in search of identity,'' was about a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, published by

Paulist Press The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle (), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Isaac Hecker in collaboration wi ...

in 1975. He followed the widespread publicity about Karen Silkwood, her death, and the suit which her family brought against her former employer,

Kerr-McGee The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an American energy company involved in oil exploration, production of crude oil, natural gas, perchlorate and uranium mining and milling in various countries. On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleu ...

. Her life and activism, and suspicious death, became the subject of his book, ''The Killing of Karen Silkwood: The Story Behind the Kerr-McGee Plutonium Case'', published by

Houghton-Mifflin Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company ( ; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, and reference works. The company is based in the Boston Financial District. It was formerly known as the Houghto ...

in 1981. Becoming interested in the story of resistance showed by hundreds of Jews who escaped from

, a German Nazi

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Rashke did research and interviewed survivors for his 1982 book, ''Escape from Sobibor''. It was adapted as a 1987

TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

by the same name, starring actors

Alan Arkin Alan Wolf Arkin (March 26, 1934 – June 29, 2023) was an American actor, filmmaker and musician. In a career spanning seven decades, he received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony A ...

and

Rutger Hauer Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor, with a career that spanned over 170 roles across nearly 50 years, beginning in 1969. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century. H ...

. One of the survivors of Sobibor whom Rashke interviewed was Esther Terner Raab. As a result of her talks about her experience, she received many letters, which she shared with Rashke, as she said they helped her heal. His play about her and the influence of the letters, ''Dear Esther'', premiered in 1998 in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

, at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Drawn to compelling personal stories, Rashke has studied subjects including

Bill Lear William Powell Lear (June 26, 1902 – May 14, 1978) was an American inventor and businessman. He is best known for founding Learjet, a manufacturer of business jets. He also invented the battery eliminator for the B battery, and developed th ...

, an aviation engineer and inventor who did not get beyond seventh grade.

Marriage and family

Rashke is married to Paula Kaufmann. They live in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin.

Bibliography

Books

* * * * * – co-author * * * * * In October 1943, Esther Terner and 300 other Jews escaped from Sobibor, a Nazi death camp in eastern Poland. It was the biggest escape of WWII and the subject of ''Escape from Sobibor''. That book, and the movie based on it, brought Esther many invitations to speak in public schools. Her courageous story generated hundreds of letters from children expressing their love, concern and outrage. Those letters became the inspiration for the play, ''Dear Esther''. This is a collection of the heartfelt letters, poems and drawings school children sent Esther, along with the play.

Plays

*''Asking For It'' (out of print) *''Bang!'' (out of print) * *''Love in a Petri Dish'' (out of print) *''Pius'' (out of print) *''Season to Season'' (out of print)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rashke, Richard 1936 births Living people American male journalists Writers from Milwaukee Journalists from Milwaukee