1 00:00:01,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Taśma 7, an interview with Mrs. Naomi Makawer. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:06,000 Joanna Wróblewska is the presenter. 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Before we talk about your experiences and your time in Miłosna near Warsaw, 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:22,000 I would like you to tell us how and when you left the ghetto and how you found yourself on the Aryan side. 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:33,000 When the Germans released us after the second successful escape, 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:41,000 when we returned to Zamenhof, it was clear to us that we cannot stay in the ghetto, 7 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,000 that we had to escape. 8 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:53,000 Despite the fact that my husband had a wrinkled face, he was changed, he looked like a prince, he was very pale, 9 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:58,000 we decided to escape again. 10 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:11,000 At that time, the ghetto was so small that people tried to escape to the part of the ghetto where there were shops. 11 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:14,000 But there were only shops. 12 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Not all the ghettos that existed before, for example the so-called small ghetto, were evicted. 13 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:32,000 The church was evicted, only the priests were allowed to leave on the first day of eviction. 14 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000 And the church was evicted. 15 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,000 And now I would like to talk about how we got through. 16 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:52,000 So we joined a group of lunatics who were chasing us, not going, but chasing us towards the small ghetto, 17 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:56,000 because it was no longer there, only a shop. 18 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,000 We were chasing them too. 19 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:08,000 A German took the vodka, I don't remember, he took something and let everyone go to the shops, 20 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 because he knew that one way or another everyone would die. 21 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,000 We got separated. 22 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,000 And why were these people chasing us? 23 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,000 Because there was a rumor that the wagons had been set up. 24 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,000 It meant that they would be evicted again. 25 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,000 So they chased us terribly. 26 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:36,000 And we separated from this group to Nowolipki, where my two cousins live with their husband, 27 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,000 one of them Habas, Engineer Habas. 28 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:49,000 We got there during the period that we experienced in Zamenhof at the beginning. 29 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:55,000 It was a nice, clean room, cleaned by us. 30 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:01,000 There was a bathroom, a good bath, for the first time in a long time. 31 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:04,000 My husband looked like a priest. 32 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 They welcomed us very warmly. 33 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 They said, "We were waiting for you since yesterday." 34 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 Because they knew what was going on. 35 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:23,000 One of our friends found out that we wanted to escape to the other side. 36 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,000 Maybe he was 18, but he said, "I'll take care of it." 37 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,000 It was that simple and that easy. 38 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:40,000 My husband said, "First of all, I'll take the money for this unsuccessful escape, maybe some things." 39 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,000 After all, we had to have some money from the Arab side. 40 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:50,000 And he went back to the ghetto to get the money. 41 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 With a frown on his face. 42 00:03:53,000 --> 00:04:01,000 I heard from this young man that it could be arranged. 43 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:08,000 I was even surprised that such a young man could arrange such things. 44 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,000 My husband came back the next day. 45 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 We went together to arrange it. 46 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 But he said, "I'll go first, and then he'll come." 47 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,000 Because he couldn't go with such a face. 48 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:26,000 I said, "I won't break up with him right now. 49 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,000 Either we'll die together, or we'll live together." 50 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,000 And I took him in the car. 51 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,000 We paid for two people. 52 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,000 There were four of us in total. 53 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000 The car had a group pass. 54 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000 They didn't check anyone. 55 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,000 It was very cold. 56 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,000 A gendarme was standing there. 57 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000 He got 50 zlotys, I think. 58 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,000 He was happy because he wanted so much. 59 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:06,000 In a moment we found ourselves close to the hospital of our friend's family. 60 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,000 After four days of staying there... 61 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,000 Professor Paluch was here. 62 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Yes. 63 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 The young Użykowski came to us. 64 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:21,000 He is now a just citizen of the world. 65 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:27,000 And he was a very passionate person. 66 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:32,000 He was very close to the Jewish nation. 67 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,000 He was in Israel. 68 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:42,000 He was an American who had a family in Israel. 69 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:44,000 He gave some money. 70 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:57,000 A dozen or so people went there to visit the most important places in Israel. 71 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,000 What was the name of Użykowski's son? 72 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,000 What was his name? 73 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,000 The 17-year-old boy. 74 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:07,000 Janusz. 75 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,000 Janusz. 76 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,000 That's his name now. 77 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,000 But his father, Feliks Użykowski, played the most important role. 78 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Feliks Użykowski was... 79 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 Excuse me, did you know them before the war? 80 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:20,000 No. 81 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:21,000 You didn't know them at all. 82 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Yes. 83 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,000 Feliks Użykowski was a disabled person. 84 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:34,000 He was a sergeant in the war of 1920. 85 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:38,000 He received a military duty for the defense of a bridgehead. 86 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000 It was of the highest importance. 87 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,000 He had some courses on the field. 88 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 He was very interested in medicine. 89 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Every evening he had a medical lecture. 90 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 At 9 p.m. we were already free. 91 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:57,000 We could go to the dining room. 92 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:02,000 My husband and I talked there. 93 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,000 Excuse me for interrupting, but I would like to know 94 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,000 if you were hiding in Miłosna? 95 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,000 Were you there as official guests? 96 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:12,000 We were hiding. 97 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,000 We didn't have any documents there. 98 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,000 Was it a separate house? 99 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,000 It was a separate house. 100 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:21,000 No one lived there except for them. 101 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,000 But there were Orłowscy. 102 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,000 They were Janusz's grandfathers. 103 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Mr. Orłowski was an anti-Semite. 104 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,000 So he didn't dare to say that we were Jews. 105 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,000 It was called that he was a wife's officer. 106 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,000 You had to hide. 107 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:47,000 Mr. Orłowski designed two lockers for us. 108 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:54,000 One was right behind the door, in the kitchen. 109 00:07:54,000 --> 00:08:00,000 The Germans had a custom of running to the front door. 110 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 So the lockers were made deep under the floor. 111 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:12,000 There was a box in the kitchen, where a woman used to hide. 112 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,000 The bottom of the box was taken out. 113 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:24,000 And the Germans made a very big locker deep under the floor. 114 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,000 We had the worst time there. 115 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,000 They didn't look for us. 116 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,000 They looked for everyone who was alive. 117 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:37,000 They were looking for meat, for Soviet paratroopers. 118 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,000 They were looking for Jews. 119 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:43,000 We found out about it from Janusz. 120 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:56,000 Janusz was in the anti-German legion. 121 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:02,000 They were called partisans. 122 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:08,000 He knew that the next day, or in two days, there would be a revision. 123 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,000 We went to the cellar together. 124 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,000 He wanted to see what it was like. 125 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,000 He was 17 years old. 126 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,000 There were military maps and pistols. 127 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,000 We had everything we could find in the cellar. 128 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 And there were our memorabilia. 129 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:32,000 At some point, when the Germans were getting closer to the door, 130 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,000 we could hear their footsteps, Janusz jumped out. 131 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,000 "I want to see what the revision looks like." 132 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,000 That's what he said. 133 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:47,000 And when his mother jumped out, the Germans searched him. 134 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,000 He didn't have anything with him. 135 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,000 He didn't have a winter coat, because he was told to go outside. 136 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:57,000 And there was a pistol in his coat. 137 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:03,000 He didn't want to die, and we didn't want to die either. 138 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:07,000 But I want to tell you about the first day after we arrived. 139 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:12,000 So our relations with the Użygowski state were perfect. 140 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:17,000 We liked each other very much. 141 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:20,000 On the first day after we arrived, 142 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:30,000 we saw huge fields and buildings from the window of the Użygowski's room. 143 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:39,000 And we saw Germans bringing the Jewish family out of the neighboring house. 144 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:42,000 I was looking at Mańka, and he was looking at me. 145 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:47,000 And I said to him, "We'll probably go back to Warsaw." 146 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:54,000 Mr. Użykowski said, "Dr. Paluch has given you to me, 147 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,000 and I don't want to give up. 148 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,000 You'll be with me for as long as it takes." 149 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:09,000 And we left the guest house after almost a year and a half. 150 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:16,000 Because at night, there were fighting for Miłosna Street 151 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,000 between Germans and Russians. 152 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:23,000 The Russians had a tank joint in Miłosna Street, 153 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:27,000 and the Germans were destroying the tanks that were standing near our house. 154 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,000 And at night, the roof over our heads collapsed. 155 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,000 Together with the glass, we woke up in a sea of glass. 156 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:41,000 My husband had a heart attack, and I treated him because there was no other way. 157 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:46,000 He had swollen legs, but there was nowhere to be. 158 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,000 - It was the summer of 1944? - Yes. 159 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Only those tall flowers, what were they called? 160 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,000 - Yellow, golden. - Sunflowers. 161 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:00,000 They knew about this great secret of our room. 162 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:05,000 They were looking out the window, and no one else knew about it. 163 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:12,000 After saying goodbye to our hosts, 164 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,000 we went out to the front line. 165 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,000 There was a telephone line, 166 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:25,000 and every now and then, shrapnel and bombs were exploding over our heads. 167 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:31,000 We had to fall, and my husband had swollen legs. It was very difficult. 168 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:36,000 We reached the Lubelska road. 169 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:42,000 On the way, we met a group of Poles, who were moving somewhere. 170 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,000 We introduced ourselves. 171 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:58,000 As we had in the documents, my husband told me the Polish name, 172 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:02,000 Goszczyński or Gwiazdowski, I don't remember. 173 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,000 He said, "But which Gwiazdowski?" 174 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,000 My husband answered, 175 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:14,000 "We will get to the Lubelska road, 176 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:21,000 and a Soviet truck stopped in front of us. 177 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:26,000 It was heading towards Lublin, and it took us there." 178 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,000 Were you more afraid of Poles or Russians? 179 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:35,000 We weren't afraid at all. We were happy that we escaped to Germany. 180 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,000 We didn't even think about it. 181 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:43,000 It was a special situation. 182 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:49,000 We got to Lublin at the police hour. 183 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:56,000 A guard took us to a room in the cellar, 184 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:00,000 where there were several such people. 185 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,000 She gave us something to cover ourselves with. 186 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:07,000 There were a lot of mattresses, but we paid for them. 187 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:11,000 At night, we heard terrible wheezing. 188 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:17,000 My husband was so tired, but he couldn't stand it. 189 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,000 He was sick on the back of his stomach. 190 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,000 He said, "Emma, I have to take him to the hospital." 191 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,000 I said, "What? It's the police hour. I can't leave him here." 192 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,000 He took him to the hospital. I said, "How are you going to save yourself?" 193 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,000 "I'll tell them I'm a doctor." 194 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,000 They weren't Germans anymore. 195 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:44,000 After a while, my husband was active in the Polish Radio in Nasuch. 196 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,000 He knew a few languages very well. 197 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:53,000 Later, we got in touch with Warman, 198 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:59,000 who was in charge of the Lublin sanitary service. 199 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,000 - Was it Kamil Warman? - Yes. 200 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:10,000 He gave us an assignment to the evacuation hospital No. 62. 201 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,000 - In Lublin? - Yes, in Lublin. 202 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:16,000 Later, we moved on with the hospital. 203 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,000 It's not part of today's meeting. 204 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,000 - It is. - Really? 205 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:35,000 The evacuation hospital No. 62 was a tragic but also joyful experience for me. 206 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:40,000 It was a hospital directly behind the front line. 207 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:49,000 They brought me a sergeant who was wounded in the neck. 208 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:53,000 I was a day doctor then. It was at night. 209 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,000 I woke up a nurse. I was shotless. 210 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:01,000 I had an atlas on Saturday. I've never had such surgery. 211 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,000 But what could I do? I was spitting blood. 212 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:08,000 I sewed up the vein, looking at the atlas. 213 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000 I cut it open. 214 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:21,000 Then I woke up a man with zero blood, as I said before during Szelin's suicide. 215 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,000 He gave me a liter of blood. 216 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:28,000 And the sergeant left. He left wholeheartedly. 217 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:33,000 He wrote to the warden, Rydz-Żymierski, 218 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:38,000 that a young nurse had saved his life. 219 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:43,000 And Rydz-Żymierski came. Two doctors came. 220 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,000 No one had a degree. 221 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000 Every officer reported without a degree. 222 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,000 What the hell are you talking about? 223 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:53,000 Everyone had no degree. 224 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:59,000 The warden was a captain and the assistant was a lieutenant. 225 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,000 That's how I became a lieutenant. 226 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000 Then I received the Silver Cross of Merit. 227 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000 And my husband received the Golden Cross. 228 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,000 He was a captain during the transfusion. 229 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:18,000 That's how we fought for a long time. 230 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:21,000 What year was it when Rydz-Żymierski came? 231 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:26,000 It was 1944. 232 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:32,000 We were evacuated from the hospital to Otwock. 233 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:38,000 I don't remember any special experience there. 234 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,000 It was a normal work with the wounded from the battlefield. 235 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,000 Where did you live in Otwock? 236 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,000 It was a family place. 237 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:50,000 It was a temporary place. 238 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:55,000 But then we were evacuated to Gdańsk. 239 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:58,000 There was a real hospital there. 240 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Our hospital was built there. 241 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,000 The war ended on the way. 242 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,000 There were posters. 243 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,000 We were very happy. 244 00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:14,000 We arrived in Gdańsk. 245 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:21,000 The head of the hospital was a psychiatrist. 246 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:24,000 I don't remember his name now. 247 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,000 I think he was Polish. 248 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:32,000 He was forced to do it. 249 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:38,000 The head of the hospital was one of the Poles. 250 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:41,000 His name was Malinowski. 251 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:45,000 Not Malinowski, but Malinowski. 252 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,000 Malinowski. 253 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:55,000 He asked me to do it. He was a psychiatrist. 254 00:18:55,000 --> 00:19:00,000 He said, "You will be a dentist in my hospital." 255 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,000 He was Russian? 256 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:07,000 Yes, all of them were Russian. 257 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:13,000 I went to the dentist's office. 258 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:18,000 There was only a tripod, a machine and a chair. 259 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,000 I asked him, "What's going on with you?" 260 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,000 He said, "Nothing is going on with you." 261 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:29,000 I said, "My doctor was working, so you will be working too." 262 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:34,000 So we were assigned to a house in Sopot. 263 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:40,000 We went to the Black Market Square. 264 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,000 I bought everything I needed. 265 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,000 A can, a drill and so on. 266 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,000 I worked there for a long time. 267 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,000 After that, there were many other things. 268 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:56,000 I don't think it makes sense. 269 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,000 How did you find yourself after the war as Jews? 270 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:05,000 Were there any discussions between Polish and Jewish doctors? 271 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,000 No, there were no discussions. 272 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,000 When my husband was in the army, in Sopot, 273 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,000 we were organizing a hospital there. 274 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:20,000 Gdańsk was close to Sopot and we lived there. 275 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:31,000 He got a letter from Prof. Hirschfeld from Wrocław. 276 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:37,000 Prof. Hirschfeld was organizing a medical academy there. 277 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,000 He asked the military commander to release my husband, 278 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,000 who was very much in need. 279 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,000 My husband was on his military training before the war. 280 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:54,000 So they released my husband half a year before me. 281 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,000 I was still very much in need. 282 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:03,000 When did you move to Wrocław? 283 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:09,000 My husband moved there in 1945. 284 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,000 He had a heart attack there. 285 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:18,000 How did you try to find a family? 286 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:21,000 We didn't have a family. 287 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,000 Fifty people from my family died. 288 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,000 His beloved sixth daughter died. 289 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,000 Fifth, I'm sorry. 290 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:36,000 So who lived in your family apart from your sister? 291 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:43,000 My only sister-in-law was my aunt. 292 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:49,000 She is in Warsaw. 293 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000 She lived on the side of the army. 294 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:57,000 She moved to our apartment. 295 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,000 She had two children at that time. 296 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:05,000 Her husband's name was Kotowicz. 297 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,000 He looked like a Pole. 298 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:13,000 But one day she couldn't stand it. 299 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:17,000 She told her neighbors that she had to hide. 300 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,000 They were probably her neighbors. 301 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:23,000 So she called the police. 302 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:30,000 Kotowicz was supposed to come later. 303 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,000 He said that he would report to the police station. 304 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000 And he did. 305 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,000 He had his own documents. 306 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,000 Mieczysław Kotowicz. 307 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:44,000 They looked at him closely and said, 308 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,000 "You are so stupid that you came here." 309 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,000 "Get out of here as soon as possible." 310 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:53,000 It was the Polish Grenadier's police. 311 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,000 They had to change the apartment. 312 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:00,000 That's how they managed to survive. 313 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:04,000 My firstborn was born in Warsaw. 314 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:07,000 Her daughter, who is now forty years old, 315 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:12,000 is a Holocaust survivor. 316 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:16,000 When did you find out that your father was dead? 317 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,000 When did you find out that your father was dead? 318 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:25,000 I found out, I'm sure, 319 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:32,000 I found out only in Sweden. 320 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:36,000 I found out that he was murdered in Katyn. 321 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,000 But I had a continuous love story with him. 322 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,000 He told me that he was alive. 323 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,000 And that my mother was alive. 324 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000 She whispered in my ear. 325 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,000 I could feel her lips by my ear. 326 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,000 She said, "Ema, it's so hard for you to come to us." 327 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:58,000 And I said in my sleep, "I would like to live a little longer." 328 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,000 I was still very young then. 329 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,000 And my husband encouraged me, he woke me up. 330 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,000 I was very grateful to him for that. 331 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,000 That's how it is, that's how it looks like. 332 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,000 More or less everything. 333 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,000 More or less everything. 334 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,000 How was your life after the war? 335 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,000 How was your life after the war? 336 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,000 And when did you decide to start a family? 337 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000 It was very good, 338 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:35,000 because in 1946 I got my first nomination 339 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:41,000 for the senior assistant at the Medical Academy for Stomatology. 340 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,000 In Wrocław? 341 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000 In Wrocław. 342 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:48,000 And my husband was an adjunct professor at the University of Czechoslovakia. 343 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:51,000 He had two heart attacks in the meantime. 344 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,000 After those experiences. 345 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:59,000 And later, a few years after the war, 346 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:01,000 he had a severe stomach ache. 347 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,000 We were in Rabka at that time. 348 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:08,000 And he told me that he was going to die. 349 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,000 And that I had to take him to the hospital. 350 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,000 And that's what I did. 351 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,000 To Kraków. 352 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,000 And it turned out that he had a bag of blood from a kidney. 353 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,000 After those German attacks. 354 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,000 And he had his kidney removed. 355 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:35,000 He had that Jewish mark. 356 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:38,000 He was treated very meticulously. 357 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:42,000 To the point that when he had a high fever after the surgery, 358 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,000 I invited the doctor on duty, 359 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000 because I was sleeping there, 360 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:51,000 to give him penicillin. 361 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,000 The doctor on duty said that he couldn't, 362 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:58,000 because the professor was under the supervision of the boss. 363 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:00,000 And I said, "How is that possible?" 364 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,000 "But he has such a high fever." 365 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000 And my husband himself said that he was vomiting, and so on. 366 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,000 I had penicillin with me. 367 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,000 I didn't give up on penicillin. 368 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000 I gave him a shot. 369 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,000 And in the morning the doctor came and said that I did a very good job. 370 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,000 And he had pneumonia and drenage. 371 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:23,000 And then he was brought to Wrocław with that drenage. 372 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,000 A car came from Wrocław, 373 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,000 followed by a nurse. 374 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000 And there in Wrocław, 375 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:37,000 he found an invitation in the post office to America, 376 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,000 to Rockefeller. 377 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,000 And he was treated there quickly. 378 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,000 It started to go fast. 379 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000 It was true. 380 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:52,000 A year later, it was the second time. 381 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:59,000 Because they asked for Rockefeller twice. 382 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:04,000 And then we were in Switzerland. 383 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,000 My daughter was five years old then. 384 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:11,000 When was the first child born? 385 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,000 Exactly. 386 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,000 My son was born in 1949. 387 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,000 Józef. 388 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:21,000 And Jarenka, a year later. 389 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,000 But I wanted to tell you, 390 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,000 maybe you can experience this in a more intimate way. 391 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,000 I was, as I said, an assistant, 392 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,000 and later an adjunct, 393 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,000 in the dentist department. 394 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,000 And my duty was 395 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,000 to remove teeth and gums 396 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,000 at the internal department, 397 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,000 at the cardiology. 398 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:47,000 There was a professor, 399 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,000 what was his name? 400 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,000 I will recall it in a moment. 401 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:54,000 It doesn't matter. 402 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,000 And he, his adjunct, 403 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,000 asked for an end, 404 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:01,000 because the wall was moving, 405 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,000 and the patient's head was here. 406 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,000 There was no chair, just like that. 407 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000 I did it. 408 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 "Oh, please remove one more." 409 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,000 Someone was there. 410 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,000 And he had to move to the bed, 411 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,000 because he couldn't move anymore. 412 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,000 He couldn't even move. 413 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,000 He had a root or two roots. 414 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,000 I did it, he died unconscious. 415 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,000 After the anesthesia, 416 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,000 a good anesthesia, 417 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,000 without adrenaline. 418 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:34,000 So I was pregnant. 419 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:36,000 I went to my husband, 420 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,000 to the microbiology department. 421 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,000 I didn't know about it yet, 422 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,000 but I was shocked by this death. 423 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,000 My husband didn't ask me anything, 424 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,000 he just gave me coffee. 425 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000 When I drank coffee, I told him what was going on. 426 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,000 The next day, I went to Prof. Szczeklik. 427 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,000 He was a professor, 428 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,000 a very famous professor of cardiology, 429 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,000 who lived in the same house as me, 430 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:04,000 one floor above. 431 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,000 I said, "Professor, 432 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,000 why did your assistants 433 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,000 tell me to perform the last injection, 434 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,000 when a person is so seriously ill, 435 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:17,000 and you are taking care of him?" 436 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,000 He could have died of defecation, 437 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,000 I will never forget what he said. 438 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,000 "But why did I have to perform 439 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,000 the last injection?" 440 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,000 So I did it, 441 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:31,000 and later I had a miscarriage. 442 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:35,000 Yes, the first child was born 443 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:42,000 in 1949. 444 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,000 Juziek. 445 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000 And my daughter was born in 1950. 446 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,000 I think that's all. 447 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,000 I think so. 448 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,000 I would like to know 449 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:55,000 what kind of children you had, 450 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,000 when you were little, 451 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000 what holidays did you celebrate at home? 452 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,000 You asked me once. 453 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,000 I said that only my mother 454 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,000 went to bed on Sunday 455 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,000 and went to the synagogue. 456 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,000 My father was a socialist. 457 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,000 But now I mean you and your husband. 458 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:13,000 How did you raise your children? 459 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,000 I don't have any. 460 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,000 Maybe only Christmas. 461 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,000 Did your children know that they were Jews? 462 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,000 They knew, 463 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,000 but they were baptized. 464 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,000 Both of my children were baptized. 465 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:29,000 They were baptized, 466 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:35,000 and it was after the ghetto, 467 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:39,000 because the Germans took out 468 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,000 the unbaptized children 469 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,000 and the Poles gave them away. 470 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:47,000 Some, no, not all, 471 00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,000 but some did. 472 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,000 And the unbaptized children 473 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:53,000 were left alive. 474 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,000 That's why I thought 475 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,000 that it would be better 476 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,000 to baptize these children. 477 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,000 We were in a cart by the sea. 478 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,000 The children were tiny. 479 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:05,000 And I told my husband 480 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:07,000 that I wanted to baptize them. 481 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,000 My husband said, "What do you need it for?" 482 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000 I said, "You know what the situation is." 483 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,000 I told him about it. 484 00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:15,000 He said, "Listen, darling, 485 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:17,000 I will live short anyway, 486 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,000 and you will have children 487 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:21,000 under your care. 488 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,000 Do as you see fit." 489 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,000 And that's how it happened. 490 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,000 So the children were already 491 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,000 4 and 5 years old. 492 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,000 Yes. 493 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,000 How old were the children 494 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,000 when they found out 495 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000 that they were Jews? 496 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,000 They knew, of course. 497 00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:41,000 They knew. 498 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,000 Yes. 499 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,000 But their parents were 500 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:47,000 great Jews. 501 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,000 There were no prayers. 502 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,000 There was nothing like that 503 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,000 on Christmas. 504 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,000 The highest holiday 505 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,000 was Christmas Eve. 506 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:59,000 There were gifts for Christmas. 507 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,000 And that's all. 508 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,000 You are disappointed. 509 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,000 We are interrupting now. 510 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,000 Yes, yes, but you are disappointed. 511 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,000 You are disappointed. 512 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,000 The end 513 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:17,000 Thank you for your support on Patronite. 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