No writer, at least not this one, can survive without friends who understand the value of forthrightness. Scott Shane refused to let a quarter-century of friendship stand in the way of offering sharp and thoughtful comments; I’m fortunate to count him as a critic as well as a friend. Frances Stead Sellers showed me, not for the first time, why she is a great editor and why I want her to read whatever I write. Mark Reutter, my former Baltimore Sun investigative reporting partner, went over the manuscript as if it were his own, and proved again why he’s a journalist’s journalist. Bill Casey, my former Post colleague, offered the kind of critique that any writer craves—specific, smart, and salted with useful suggestions. Laura Wexler, a Baltimore-based writer with a keen appreciation for narrative storytelling, solved the problem of where to place a crucial scene; for that alone, I would pay for her coffee in perpetuity.
Many of the people I interviewed reviewed portions of the manuscript and saved me from more errors than I care to count. Their names appear in the narrative or the chapter notes; I’m grateful to them all. Several people, however, deserve special recognition: Toby Hazan, my mother’s psychiatrist, was beyond patient in helping me to piece together those events involving Mom’s hospitalization in 1995 that I did not witness. Anna Oliwek, my cousin, welcomed my questions and allowed me to intrude into some of her most painful memories. Jo Johnson, chairman of the Westland Historical Commission and preserver-in-chief of Eloise’s history, opened her shelves and cabinets to me. I cannot repay her for her many kindnesses. Marc Manson, a collector of Detroit history and artifacts, spent a day passing along some of his knowledge and introducing me to the Sanborn insurance maps of property and streets, a resource for exhuming information about the city’s past that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Ed Missavage, the former Eloise psychiatrist, forgave me for ambushing him in the Detroit Public Library; every hour I spent with him was an hour of learning and insight.
I had the pleasure, on my many trips to Detroit, of staying with Sally and Jimmy Rubiner, my wife’s relatives. Their spare bedroom became a home away from home, and their knowledge of Detroit was an unexpected bonus. I relied on Jimmy, a lawyer, for help in navigating the Michigan courts, and on Sally for her unflagging interest in the book and her unerring proof-reader’s eye. Their children, Joanna and Julia, both Californians now, gave me bed, breakfast, and dinner during a research trip to Los Angeles; they truly know how to make a traveling reporter feel welcome.
Credit also belongs to researchers who chased down a variety of elusive facts with persistence and professionalism. Carrie Hagen spent most of a summer reading Detroit newspapers and the Jewish Chronicle of London to assemble information about Jewish emigration from Europe and life in Detroit. Lori Berdak Miller plumbed the military records at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, and found both the morning reports and the daily admissions reports of the three army hospitals in the Philippines where my father was a patient in July 1945. Sam Elrom read the Radziwillow yizkor book, and wrote a richly detailed summary. Alexander Dunai, our Ukrainian translator and guide, took us to Radziwillow to search for its past; after three days together, I came to value both his friendship and his journalistic instincts.
Zofia Smardz, my Post colleague, helped by translating two documents from Polish; Anna Friedman, a long-time friend of my daughter, used her German skills to decipher several other documents. Cora Sellers’s careful read of portions of the final manuscript helped to improve it. Dan Meyers, my neighbor and a professional photographer, performed his magic on the book’s photos so they could reproduce at the highest possible quality.
Doing the reporting for Annie’s Ghosts drove home the all-important role that archivists play in preserving history. Governments have an ambivalent attitude about the records they generate, sometimes making them available and sometimes shielding them from scrutiny. Archivists, as a group, have dedicated themselves to the notion that history cannot be told without such records. If I had unlimited space, I would pay tribute to specific archivists and librarians; instead, I’ll express my appreciation to the staffs of the following: in Detroit, the Detroit Public Library’s Burton Historical Collection and Wayne State University’s Walter Reuther Library and its Purdy/Kresge Library; in suburban Detroit, the Rabbi Leo M. Franklin Archives of Temple Beth El; in Lansing, the State Archives and the Library of Michigan; in Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins University’s Sheridan Libraries, the University of Baltimore Law Library, the Loyola-Notre Dame Library, and the University of Maryland’s Health Sciences & Human Services Library; in Washington, D.C., the National Archives, the Library of Congress, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s library; in Los Angeles, the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education.
Several people spent considerable time and energy helping me, even though my requests fell squarely outside any known job description. Roya Hakakian, fellow writer and author of a wonderful memoir, generously gave me how-to lessons. Wendy Lower, professor at Towson University, helped educate me on the Holocaust in Volhynia and then skillfully improved the chapter that delves into it; she also translated many of Anna Oliwek’s wartime Nazi documents. Marian L. Smith, chief historian for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, guided me in obtaining records that I had no idea existed. Loretto Dennis Szucs of ancestry.com, the online genealogy company, shared names from her Rolodex as well as her extensive knowledge of how to find family records. Valerie Cochran at the American Legion’s Baltimore office opened the first doors to obtaining my father’s World War II disability discharge records. Jamie Soliman helped me navigate the maze of the Wayne County Probate Court; I wish every government office had her clone working there. Alice Pepper at The Detroit Free Press pulled together the newspaper’s clippings on Eloise and cheerfully put up with periodic phone calls looking for confirmation of one fact or another.
Others who shared their considerable expertise include Robert Bernstein at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Walter Reich, professor of psychiatry at George Washington University and former director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Charles Hyde, a Wayne State professor and author of a book on the Dodge brothers; Alexandra Stern, a University of Michigan professor who has done pioneering research on the history of forced sterilization; and Carol Chiamp, a lawyer in Detroit who represented mentally ill patients during the early days of deinstitutionalization.
I’m indebted to the many people who allowed me to comb their family albums in search of Annie’s photo. Unfortunately, I never found one. If I had, her image might have been the ghostly figure in the cover illustration. Looking at the arresting stock photo that Hyperion chose reminds me that I won’t ever know for sure what Annie looked like.
The last shall be first, in truth and in my heart. My children, Josh and Jill, weren’t even teenagers when the secret first emerged; twelve years later, they were reading the manuscript and giving me valuable feedback. The transformation still amazes me. My wife, Mary Jo Kirschman, knows Annie’s Ghosts nearly as well as I do. She accompanied me on much of this journey, either as a listener or as a witness, and when I needed a sounding board, she was my first choice. It isn’t her book, but it reflects her good questions and good judgment. I cannot imagine a better traveling companion.
SEARCHABLE TERMS
Note: Entries in this index, carried over verbatim from the print edition of this title, are unlikely to correspond to the pagination of any given e-book reader. However, entries in this index, and other terms, may be easily located by using the search feature of your e-book reader.
Page numbers in italics refer to photo captions.
Altshuler, Ira, 111, 119, 230, 242
American Medico-Psychological Association, 117 American Odyssey (Conot), 207–8
American Psychiatric Association, 113, 123
Arm, Milton, 83, 84
Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane, 113
asylums, 113–14, 116, 117–20, 123
see also mental hospitals
Auswandererhallen, 201
automobile industry, 204–7, 320
Barahal, George, 223–25
baseball, 29, 65–66
Bell, Annette, 313–15
Bennett, Ebenezer O., 116
Berlien, Ivan, 96–97
Bernek, Mary, 269
Black, Ann, 85, 319, 330, 342–45
Black Stork, The, 183–84
Bohn, Stephen, 52, 53, 94, 101, 273, 274, 275
Bolewicki, Peter E., 97–98, 106, 112, 120, 222
Bollinger, Allen and Anna, 182–83
Boskin, Rose Luxenberg, 290
Botsford Memorial Hospital, 267–68
Beth Luxenberg’s hospitalization at, 5–8, 20, 102, 103, 132, 145, 156, 164, 268–71, 277
Britton, Shirley, 77
Brodie, Millie Moss, 178–81, 184–88, 211, 231, 339
Brown, Ammon, 112
Buck v. Bell, 181
Carroll, Kevin, 217–19
census, 54–55, 120–21
Chicago Daily Tribune, 183
Clark, Alvin C., 64, 112, 113, 114, 122–23
Clark, Benjamin W., 94–98
Cochran, Mickey, 223
Cohen, Annie:
Ann Black’s knowledge of, 343–45
and Beth’s letters to Jack, 172–73, 307–8, 338
Beth’s mentions of existence of, 1, 2, 4–5, 267, 269, 340
Beth’s relationship with, 46–47, 180, 350
Bill Luxenberg’s knowledge of, 331, 336, 338
burial record of, 13, 14, 61, 83
constipation suffered by, 51, 100–101
death of, 13–14, 18, 82–83, 310, 312, 342
death notice for, 357
at Eloise, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 43–53, 62–63, 65, 67, 71, 78–79, 96–98, 100, 106, 109–12, 120–21, 131–35, 144, 146–47, 173, 221–22, 272–76
eugenics movement and, 181–85
grave site of, 11, 82–84, 87–89, 356–58
hospitalization of, 4, 12, 13, 15–20, 23, 24, 43–53, 64, 65, 69–70, 72, 78, 86, 94–98, 100, 101, 106, 109–12, 124, 139, 221–22, 272–76, 341
intelligence of, 48–49, 95–96, 101, 124, 154, 243, 273–74
intelligence tests given to, 224–25, 273, 274
Jack Luxenberg’s knowledge of, 19, 131, 150, 165, 173, 289–92, 308, 323–24, 329, 331, 336, 338–40
leg deformity of, 18, 19, 24, 44–45, 48, 50, 52, 86, 95, 101, 124, 154, 180, 181, 184, 185, 206, 208, 212, 215–19, 232, 243, 274
medications taken by, 312
menstruation story and, 147
mental illness of, 18, 44, 46, 50–54, 61, 62, 94–101, 106, 124, 147, 150, 154, 222, 272–74
Millie Brodie’s memories of, 178, 179–81, 184–87
at Northville, 13–18, 24, 46–47, 53, 312
in nursing home, 18, 47, 153, 312
records on, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20–22, 43–54, 61, 63, 79, 93–98, 100–101, 104–6, 115–17, 120–21, 213–15, 220–25, 239–40, 273, 278
at Sault Ste. Marie hospital, 63, 239–42, 307–10
schooling of, 48, 50, 95–96, 212–13, 273
sexual assault of, 51, 101, 154, 244–45
Steve as personal representative of, 104–5, 213, 214, 220
Tillie and Anna’s visits to, 131–35, 144, 146–47, 151–52, 173, 245, 270
Cohen, Deborah, 277–79
Cohen, Hyman (Chaim Korn), 13, 17, 20, 24, 31, 48, 49, 69, 72, 129, 136–39, 148–51, 179, 187, 193–96, 270, 326, 327
auto factory jobs of, 205–6, 207
burial record of, 13
as cigar laborer, 195–96
death of, 134, 135, 193, 270
emigration to U.S., 138, 192, 194–95, 197, 201–3
grave site of, 11, 87–88
health problems of, 138, 270
as junk peddler, 17, 196, 204, 206, 207, 326
marriage of, 138–39
Nathan Shlien and, 189, 190, 207
wife as cousin of, 138–39, 152–54
Cohen, Tillie Schlein, 13, 17, 24, 31, 42, 50, 51, 69, 72, 74, 129, 130, 136–39, 148–51, 158, 187, 206, 326, 327, 339
Annie’s hospitalization and, 20, 24, 45–46, 49, 71, 94, 97, 98, 109, 139, 154, 222, 274
Annie visited by, 131–35, 146–47, 151–52, 173, 245, 270
burial record of, 13
emigration to U.S., 138, 194, 197
grave site of, 11, 87–88
health problems of, 134–35
husband as cousin of, 138–39, 152–54
marriage of, 138–39
Millie Brodie and, 179–81
Nathan Shlien and, 189, 190, 207
“sins of the parents” comment of, 138–39, 153–54, 187, 348
Community Mental Health Act, 311
Conot, Robert, 207–8
Cowen, Philip, 200
Dance, William H., 315
Darnall General Hospital, 295, 297, 301, 302, 306, 308, 309, 337
Depression, Great, 48, 207–8, 235, 236
Detroit, Mich., 76–77, 130, 196, 329–30
automobile industry in, 204–7, 320
Book Cadillac in, 206
cigar manufacturers in, 195–96
Depression and, 48, 207–8
growth of, 196–97, 206
Hyman Cohen’s move to, 195–96
riots in, 75–76
Woodward Avenue in, 77
World War II and, 169–70
Detroit Free Press, 35, 172, 177, 345
Detroit Jewish News, 357
Detroit Lancet, 116
Detroit Psychological Clinic, 223–24
Detroit Tigers, 66, 223
Dickerson, Freeman B., 80–81
Dillingham, William, 200
Dix, Dorothea, 113, 116
Dnepropetrovsk, 256–58
Dodge Brothers, 205–6
Donofsky, Fran Rumpa, 65, 68–70, 295, 296, 321, 324, 344
Donofsky, Hank, 162
Donofsky, Hy, 65, 69, 162, 295, 296, 302, 307
Donofsky, Rose, 307
Doren, Barry, 325–26
Doren, David, 177
Doren, Irene Robinson, 78, 171, 177, 178, 179, 186, 324, 325–28
Downriver Council for the Arts, 82
DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), 222, 231, 303
Dunai, Alexander, 346–48
Edelman, Ethel, 319, 330, 340–42, 345
Edelman, Jack, 342
Edelman, Natalie, 340–42, 345
Einsatzgruppen, 250, 253
Eisenbahn, 256
Ellis Hospital, 308
Ellis Island, 194, 197, 203, 288
Ellison, Sandra Peppercorn, 100–103
Eloise Hospital, 23–24, 62, 63–64, 80–82, 99–100, 106, 110–11, 119, 120
Annie Cohen at, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 62–63, 65, 67, 71, 78–79, 96–98, 100, 106, 109–12, 120–21, 131–35, 144, 146–47, 173, 221–22, 272–76
cemetery of, 82, 352, 353–56
children of employees at, 229
expansion of, 121–22, 311
group therapy at, 111, 230
history of, 80–81, 112–14, 116, 118, 119
lawsuit against, 313–15
lobotomies performed at, 234
Missavage at, 78–79, 110, 275, 310
name of, 80–81
overcrowding at, 228, 234, 237, 242, 311–12
patient records of, 115–16
patients paroled from, 124
patients transferred to Sault Ste. Marie, 63, 238–42, 307–10
photographs of, 108, 142, 352 POGIEs in, 121, 207
population of, 23, 63–64, 81, 119, 121–23, 234–37, 239
preservationists and, 64, 81–82
shock therapy at, 111, 233–34, 274
size of, 23
state r
eimbursements to, 236, 238, 312
sterilization policies and, 275
televisions installed at, 242
Tillie’s visits to see Annie at, 131–35, 144, 146–47, 151–52, 173, 245, 270
transfer of patients out of, 310–12
Eloise Museum, 64, 81–82, 239
Emmer, Faye Levin, 54–55, 56, 70, 150, 158, 171, 177, 211–12, 321, 322, 324, 325
Erickson, Milton, 109, 119
eugenics movement, 181–85
sterilization and, 181–82, 275
Evans, Mona, 43–46, 48–54, 79, 95–96, 97, 112, 132, 138, 147, 181, 185, 187, 195, 207, 216, 223, 231
family secrets, 47–48, 277–79
Ford, Henry, 204–5
Ford Motor Co., 204–5, 206, 207
foster care, 243
Frassica, Frank J., 215–17
Freud, Sigmund, 119, 273
Friends of Eloise, 64, 82, 240, 353–56
Frumkin, Marilyn, 85, 319, 343, 344, 345
Frumkin, Sid, 85, 319, 343
Garfinkel, Barbara, 85
Garfinkel, Fred, 84–87
Göering, Hermann, 252
Goose, Dave, 177
Goose, Sandra, 171, 177
Great and Desperate Cures: The Rise and Decline of Psychosurgery and Other Radical Treatments for Mental Illness (Valenstein), 232
Greco, Mary, 213–14, 220
Green, Laurie Brodie, 178
Greenberg, Hank, 223
Grob, Gerald, 274
Grobeson, Medji, 59–63, 242, 335, 344
group homes, 243, 244
Gruber, Thomas K., 106, 111, 118–19, 121, 122, 123, 233, 235, 236, 239–42, 311
Haiselden, Harry J., 182–84, 185
Hall, Helen, 207
Hamilton, Samuel W., 123–24
Harper Hospital, 45, 46, 49, 51–52, 100, 208, 215, 216
Harvard University, 204
Harwell, Ernie, 66
Hazan, Toby, 5, 6, 7, 8, 154–56, 164, 187, 267, 269, 270, 276–77, 340, 342
Hebrew Memorial Park, 11, 12–14, 82–84, 87–89, 356–58