Narrative

Lost and then Found

On Living History Day, our group had the wonderful opportunity to meet and interview a remarkable woman who survived the Second World War: Róża Górska. Róża Górska was born in the town of Lodz in 1939 as was Helena Feinberg. Unfortunately, on the day of her birth, the Nazis began their offensive on Lodz. Now, seventy-three years later, the world is a different place. Many tragic events have happened in Róża’s life, yet she can still smile with us today. She has a story that needs to be heard: The human race needs to learn from the mistakes committed in the past.

      When the Germans invaded Lodz in 1939, anxiety spread quickly. Her father, who could speak German, escaped because of his language skills and fled to the Soviet Union. Her grandfather, who owned a paper factory, could not pass his factory down now that no relative could inherit it. With nothingfor which to stay, the entire family left for Warsaw. When the walls for the Warsaw Ghetto were made, their apartment was already inside the boundary so they did not have to move after the walls of the ghetto were made. Her mother eventually became ill and Róża couldn’t see her mother due to fear of infection except for the times she climbed into bed with her, undetected. She said she truly felt safe there with her mother. One day, she woke up to find that her mother has disappeared. This was her earliest memory, feeling lost because of her mother’s absence. A man came and told Roza that she would be taken out of the ghetto. Róża had no choice but to obey.

     The next morning, the strange man dressed her up in warm clothing and told Róża that her new name was Marysia Kolakowska. He put her in a train wagon and kept telling her that her name was no longer Helena Feinberg. The train took her and some other orphans inside to a nunnery.  The nuns took care of her as if she was their own. She grew up contentedly in the nunnery. She also enjoyed the company of a nun who especially doted on her. Roza attended a school that was connected to the nunnery. Unfortuantely, there was a teacher there who was especially cruel to her. Róża admitted to praying everyday that she could go to heaven with her family when under the nun’s tyranny. Once  a couple who wanted to adopt a daughter and take her to the United States with them,   visited and when they expressed interest in Róża, the nun who doted on Roza told the couple that they could not take her.

         When Róża turned twelve, the nunnery was closed down. She moved to a nearby boarding school. Two years later a family of five adopted Róża. In her new school, there were too many Marysias so the teachers called her Róża. Soon her new family adopted this name too but her aunt, as Róża called her, felt jealous of the attention Roza

garnered from her uncle and the brothers. Róża eventually went to college in Lublin to study physiology before her aunt could kick her out of the house which was fortunate for Roza. Róża reminisced, “These were the brightest moments of my life”. She felt like she had a freedom to do what she wanted, friends, and even met her husband in Lublin.

    After getting married, Róża joined the Children of the Holocaust organization which endeavors to reunite family memories separated during World War II. She tried to find relatives, but she didn’t succeed. She had a birthmark that she thought could lead to her family, but that had disappeared long ago.

     Róża later learned that her father was sent to a camp in Kazakhstan to chop down trees after traveling to the Soviet Union. He started to look for his family after being set free. When he found out his wife was dead, he still searched for his daughter for years while offering a reward for information. He sorted out the lies from the truth and came across a woman who thought she had his daughter. He fell in love with the woman and remarried even though the woman’s daughter wasn’t Róża.

     After WWII ended, Róża met both the nun who adored her and the teacher who was cruel to her later in life. The nun who doted on her explained that she didn’t want Roza to go with the first couple because she was too important to the

people there and the nun didn’t want anyone finding out that Roza was really a Jew. The teacher that she didn’t get along with had changed dramatically over the years and became a more pleasant, joyful person.

       Róża Górska told a remarkable story of change from a child who bounced around from place to place  to a young woman who could control her own destiny. It truly was a privilege to hear this story. We can all learn something from this stor:; Even if times are hard or you are confused as to who you are, you will probably find the answer somehow and live your own life the way you want to.