Author Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz’s Book, “Madness of The XX Century: A Testimony,” Recounts the Horrors, the Degradation, and Despair in WW II Concentration Camps
New York, NY, April 19, 2023 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz has completed his new book, “Madness of The XX Century: A Testimony”: a poignant work that tells of the author’s deep faith in God and how total strangers stepped up and helped him survive this madness.
Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz was just 20 years old, engaged as a tutor in the Polish Underground School of the Tarnow area, when he was apprehended by the Gestapo. Mercilessly tortured for days, he refused to give the Germans any useful information and nearly died protecting his comrades. After months of imprisonment and recovery from his torture, young Zbigniew was transferred to the first of five concentration camps—Auschwitz. After this, on to Birkenau, then Buchenwald, and Mittelbau (DORA), and finally, Bergen-Belsen.
Author Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz was born into wealthy Polish nobility on August 19, 1922, in Stolin, Poland (now Belarus). His life of privilege began to unravel in 1930 when his father died and stopped altogether when his mother died in 1932. Orphaned at the age of ten, he was taken in by an uncle and his wife to a farm 100 miles south in what is now Ukraine. He had just begun his final year of secondary school in 1939 when World War II broke out. The family of three escaped the Soviet incursion by finding shelter in south-central Poland. It is there, in the spring of 1943, the author’s two-year ordeal began with his capture by the Nazis Gestapo.
After being liberated by the British in 1945, Mr. Haszlakiewicz remained in Germany, married, started a family, and earned a degree in Urban Planning from the Braunschweig Polytechnic. In 1951, the family of three emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he had a successful career as a structural engineer. After retiring to Florida in 1987, family and friends convinced him to write down what he experienced in the Nazis concentration camps. The original edition of “Madness of the XX Century” was self-published in 1998. Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz died in 2009. He was 86 years old.
Author Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz writes, “For centuries, my family lived in the eastern territories of the Polish Commonwealth. They survived many disasters, wars, invasions, rebellions, and over one hundred years of methodical Russification efforts by the Russian czarist regime. After the First World War and after the Polish victory over Lenin’s Red Army in 1920, only a part of these territories were included within the borders of the Republic of Poland. A modern Polish state was developing for nineteen years. Despite some friction between ethnic groups (Polish, Ukrainian, Jewish, Byelorussian, German, etc.), life in Poland was peaceful and pleasant compared to what was going on in those days in Germany and, in particular, across the eastern border—in the Soviet Union. The turmoil by both big neighbors of Poland was the prelude to an aggression. In September 1939, the Hakenkreuz from the west and the hammer and sickle from the east started rolling. Poland was overrun and occupied: the western half by Nazi Germany and the eastern half by Soviet Russia.”
Published by Page Publishing, Zbigniew Marian Haszlakiewicz’s intense account takes readers into the horrors of concentration camps.
Readers who wish to experience this unforgettable work can purchase “Madness of The XX Century: A Testimony” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.
For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.
About Page Publishing:
Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors’ books, including distribution in the world’s largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Page’s accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at www.pagepublishing.com.
Portland, OR, November 27, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– The FAN EXPO Portland celebrity guest list has always featured great variety, and five new additions to the 2026 lineup for the pop culture extravaganza are further proof of that. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw), Gates McFadden (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard), Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place, Star Wars: The Acolyte) and “Peggy the Dog” (Deadpool & Wolverine) will now attend the event set for January 16-18 at the Oregon Convention Center.
Elwes gained wide acclaim for his portrayal of “Wesley” in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride and reached new audiences by headlining the Mel Brooks spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights and later Saw. He also recently appeared in the Tom Cruise features Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and portrays “Mayor Larry Kline” in Stranger Things 3.
McFadden had the key role of “Beverly Crusher” in TNG, reprising the role in Picard, Prodigy and other iterations of the franchise. She is also a stage actress, choreographer, director, teacher, and was the host of more than 300 episodes of the podcast “Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?”
Koenig is best known for his recurring television portrayals both of the hated, intensely driven “Alfred Bester” (Babylon 5) and the likable, perpetually cheerful “Pavel Chekov” (Star Trek). Koenig’s film work includes the first seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations. His many other films have been independent projects with challenging roles.
Jacinto played “Jason Mendoza” on the full four-season run of The Good Place (2016-20) and later appeared as “Lt. Fritz Avalone” in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Also among his more than 50 TV and film credits are runs on the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers and the animated series Hailey’s on It!
Peggy, earning the title of “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” in a national competition there, has gone on to stardom as “Dogpool” in the Marvel Universe in Deadpool & Wolverine. A portion of proceeds from her appearance at FAN EXPO Portland will support a local charity in the Pacific Northwest.
The five bolster an already impressive FAN EXPO Portland celebrity roster that includes: • The Lord of the Rings headliners Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan • Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Men in Black³) • Josh Holloway (Lost, Yellowstone) • Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) • Harry Potter duo of Matthew Lewis and Bonnie Wright • Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Armageddon) • Robbie Rist (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Brady Bunch) • Ernie Reyes Jr. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) • Brian Tochi (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Revenge of the Nerds) • Kenn Scott (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, director/Adventures of Johnny Tao) • François Chau (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lost) • Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, American Dad) • Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!, The Goldbergs) • My Hero Academia standouts Eric Vale, David Matranga, J. Michael Tatum, Brandon McInnis and Clifford Chapin • Hazbin Hotel regulars Christian Borle, Joel Perez and Krystina Alabado
More FAN EXPO Portland guest announcements will follow from the worlds of film, television, streaming, art, literature, gaming, cosplay, anime, animation and more in the coming weeks.
Adult, Youth and Child Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Family passes, and Ultimate and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Portland are available now at www.fanexpoportland.com. Advance pricing is available until January 1.
Portland is the second event on the 2026 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events.
About FAN EXPO HQ FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts over one million fans annually at FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO Vancouver, FAN EXPO Cleveland, MEGACON Orlando, Toronto Comicon, CALGARY EXPO, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, FAN EXPO Boston, FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada, FAN EXPO Dallas, VIDCON Anaheim, EDMONTON EXPO, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL and FAN EXPO San Francisco. The latest schedule of events is available on the website, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.
Nashville, TN, November 20, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– A fourth-generation U.S. Virgin Islander who has called Nashville home since 1993, de Lugo transitioned from an award-winning career in music publishing and feature film producing, with Platinum and Gold Albums, Arista Records A-Team Award, BMI #1 and more, to lavender farming in 2018. Focusing exclusively on Peace Tree Farm’s trademarked, heat- and humidity-tolerant hybrids—Lavender Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, and Exceptional!®—she has proven these cultivars are the definitive choice for Southern growers.
Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm, the original breeder of these global-standard varieties, praises de Lugo’s early foresight and influence:
“Over a period of the last decade, Gigi has been highlighting our introductions that have become the Gold Standard for lavender worldwide, and she was an early proponent because she saw the extra value of these introductions… Once she knew the plants were different and far superior, she committed to making the right choice for her customers. She can now proudly say that she has started over 30 new farms on their journey across an area ranging from Virginia through to Iowa!”
From its original rented fields in Whites Creek—Gigi’s Lavender, was celebrated by “Garden & Gun” magazine as one of the South’s top lavender destinations—the licensed nursery has supplied thousands of Peace Tree-bred plants throughout Tennessee and beyond. In 2019, de Lugo founded “The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” an exclusive membership alliance offering ongoing technical support, resource sharing, cooperative marketing, and agritourism promotion to farms that source their plants exclusively from Gigi’s Nursery.
Traven also highlights the impact of this network: “Gigi also knows the great importance and value of marketing with expression of clear benefits and a clear message. She created the Lavender Exchange with this in mind—to provide an outlet for cooperative marketing and sharing of equipment and machinery and product ideas.”
This strengthened ownership ensures continuity for de Lugo’s research, educational outreach, and product innovation at the Joelton location, including her newest Patent Pending offering, “ZWave Mg”—a topical magnesium spray infused with pure Phenomenal lavender hydrosol steam-distilled exclusively from flowers grown by TLx member farms. Designed for relaxation, muscle relief, and better sleep, ZWave Mg showcases the wellness potential of Southern-grown lavender.
“This milestone gives us the stability and security to continue investing in our Southern lavender research, development, product distribution, and growing community of the farms we support through The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” said Gigi de Lugo. “From the beginning I set out to prove lavender could become a viable cash crop for Tennessee and Southern farms—not only a pretty agritourism field, but a real harvestable commodity built on Phenomenal®. It took courageous pioneers willing to bet on the unproven and stay the course with me. These years, alongside the extraordinary farmers of our TLx family, have been one of the greatest adventures of my life.”
Experience the pure essence of Southern lavender: Gigi’s premium products, including the breakthrough ZWave Mg, are available exclusively through her website, and retail partners across Tennessee. Gigi is in discussion with a Nashville based manufacturer to expand her ZWave Mg production capacity for 2026.
About Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm is a Tennessee-licensed grower and an exclusive Southeast source for Peace Tree Farm’s Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, Exceptional!®, Inspirational!® lavender cultivars. It serves as headquarters for The Lavender Exchange (TLx), a premier network advancing lavender agriculture and agritourism across the South and Midwest.
