Alina Parzęczewska
I am not describing the events chronologically but according to the impact, the depth of emotions that remain in my memory. When in May 1945 the bells were ringing, announcing the end of the war, Mama and I fell into each other’s arms. Mama burst out in violent sobbing and couldn’t calm down for a […]
Maria Orwid (Pfeffer)
Sometimes when my fellow psychiatrists, especially Germans, ask me to what extent and how my traumatic childhood influenced my attitude as a psychiatrist, my banal response is that in my professional work, I place the greatest value on human dignity, the dignity of the patient. I’ve often wondered why it is that dignity is so […]
Rachela Malinger
It was the night before the Germans were expected to march into Łódź. The city had previously been shelled with artillery fire and bombarded. The shelling had gone on without interruption, so for a long time we couldn’t leave the cellar, which had been quickly converted into a shelter. When things finally quieted down, we […]
Alfred Królikowski
I was born on January 8, 1928, in Kraków, as the son of Zygmunt Leopold Szancer and Zofia Szancer, née Haber. Following family tradition, I was given the name Alfred after my paternal grandfather. My father, born on April 5, 1902, in Vienna, was the son of Alfred Szancer and Margareta Szancer, née Strakosch. My […]
Jadwiga (Wicher) Kotowska, née Braun
I come from a family of tradespeople. Before the war, my grandfather owned seven hackney carriages. He lived on Grzybowska Street in Warsaw. I most likely lived on Twarda Street, but my grandfather had his stables on Grzybowska. Grandma—as much as I remember of her—wore a wig. Grandma and Grandpa were Hasidic Jews. They were […]
Stella Kolin née Obremska
For Ludka—my sister and savior Prologue There comes a time when one can no longer remain calm and silent. There comes a time when obligations take precedence, even at the cost of reopening old wounds. From time to time I feel that something is tormenting me. It’s an impulse to write about the tragic past. […]
Jan Klapper-Karpiński
I was born in Kraków on January 27, 1930, into a middle-class Jewish family. My father was the business manager of the Solvay soda factory in Kraków. He was an orphan, brought up in a children’s home. Starting as a messenger, he advanced to this position through his own efforts. Mama, whose maiden name was […]
Ewa i Anna Janowskie
We come from a large Jewish family that had lived in Kraków for many years. Papa’s father, Wilhelm Kleinberg, owned a photography studio. His wife, Antonina, had brought up their six children—Zofia (married name Minder), Paulina (Keiner), Irena (Kirsh), Edward (Aryan name Śliwiński), Juliusz, and our papa, Roman. Mama’s father, Jakub Paster, worked in a […]
Jana Prot
A Remembrance of Stefan A. (1939-1944) My friendship with Stefan A. began during a vacation we both spent in Pionki. Irrationally, it seems as if we had known each other for many years, but in reality we only spent the last summer before the war together, in 1939, and a few short Christmas and Easter […]
Joanna Sobolewska-Pyz
My first memories go back to the moment when I met my new parents. It was in the apartment of Mrs. Wanda Niczowa. When they entered, I was sitting on the floor, playing. “This is your mama and your papa,” said Mrs. Niczowa. I was very pleased; my new mama was lovely, all made up […]