Interview: Alfredo Ratniewski of BOLEK: THE STORY THAT SILENCE COVERED at San Diego JFest

A dramatic play reading reveals the story of a family who risked everything to save a Jewish man during the Holocaust in war-torn Poland, and their descendants who, 80 years later, reached out to his son to ensure that history was never forgotten.

In Bolek: The Story That Silence Covered, Alfredo Ratniewski knew his father as a man of carefully chosen silences. A respected doctor in Mexico City, Bolek carried the weight of a past he refused to speak about, leaving his son with more questions than answers. But when a mysterious email arrives from Poland eighty years after the war, a door to the past swings wide open, revealing a breathtaking journey of survival, courage and a secret hidden behind a single oil painting.

Presented by San Diego JFest on November 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Congregation Adat Yeshurun, the 50-minute play reading features a book by Alfredo Ratniewski and a theatrical adaptation by JFest Founding Artistic Director Todd Salovey. The production stars Marco Barricelli as Alfredo, Rosina Reynolds as Zofia and Kate Rose Reynolds as Izabella, and will be followed by a special Q&A with Ratniewski and Izabella Cooper, daughter of the woman from Poland whose family hid and helped save Bolek.

Born in Mexico City in 1953, Ratniewski is the son of Holocaust survivors. He followed in his father's footsteps, graduating as a physician in 1977 and specializing in internal medicine. He moved to San Diego in 1982 and has devoted his career to treating patients while balancing the art and science of medicine, as well as teaching at universities in Mexico and the United States. He published his first book, The Art of Healing, in 2023.

BroadwayWorld spoke with Ratniewski about bringing his book to the stage, his father's past and the journey of uncovering a story that had remained silent for decades.

You spent much of your professional life as a physician. What drew you toward writing and the arts, and how did that transition come about?

After 50 years in the medical field, at this stage of my life, this transition took place first out of my need to communicate to the outside world what was happening in the world of medicine, which I did with my first book, The Art of Healing.

Some time later, when I learned about the incredible story of my father during the Holocaust, which involved courage, heroism, gratitude and much more, again I felt the need to let people know how, in the worst of times, you also find the best in putting human values into practice, ultimately saving lives and making the world a better place.

You first told your family’s story in your book, Bolek: The Story That Silence Covered, which has now been adapted for the stage by Todd Salovey for San Diego JFest. What inspired you to bring this deeply personal story to the stage?

After learning the war story of my father and getting to know the people who saved his life, risking their own, I decided that I needed to tell this story to as many people as possible. As the old Jewish saying goes: “Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world.”

Without giving too much away, can you share how the mysterious email you received from Poland changed your understanding of your father’s story?

As with most Holocaust survivors, my father did not talk about what happened during those ominous times, and that mysterious email started a journey that not only helped me understand his amazing story but also allowed me to meet the family that saved his life.

Was there a particular moment or discovery during this journey that changed how you felt about your father, or about your own identity as the son of Holocaust survivors?

I always felt very proud of my father, who was always very nice to me, but I always wondered why he never spoke about what happened to him or his family during the war. Now I understand the reason for his silence, and I am even more proud of him. And I am also proud of being the son of Holocaust survivors.

As a Mexican writer, how does your own cultural background shape the way you tell your family’s story, and what perspective do you hope it brings to audiences experiencing this history through your work?

My cultural background, which includes the American, Mexican, Jewish and Polish components, helped me write the story in a very open and non-unilateral way. So, regardless of your background, beliefs or lifestyle, this story brings up universal values, such as courage and gratitude, with an emphasis on an emotional component that is very easy to understand and enjoy.

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