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Pinchas and Ester Kleiner, Hanna’s grandparents on her father's side, had seven children: Mordche, Sender, Yakov, Zalman, Shmuel, Ruchele, and Reisele. Mordche, Hanna's father, received a middle school education. He was a talented carpenter which allowed him to pursue a career in design and manufacturing. Mordche and his two brothers bought a small workshop in Bendzin, Poland where they manufactured fine furniture.
Mordche Kleiner
Ruzha and Tova Zucker
Hanna’s grandparents on her mother’s side were Moishe and Feigle Zucker. Moishe and Feigle had four daughters named Ruzha, Hindzha, Manya, and Chava. Ruzha, Hanna's mother, received a secular middle school education and a religious one at Beys Yakov, an afternoon Jewish School. Ruzha worked in her father’s wood storing facility and shared responsibilities with her mother and sisters since Moishe and Feigle had no sons.
Before Mordche and Ruzha became a couple, Mordche would proudly ride up on his fancy bicycle to court Ruzha. The courtship lasted a long time while she played hard to get, and he persisted. Everyone adored Mordche and couldn’t understand Ruzha’s reluctance to marry. Eventually, love blossomed and Mordche and Ruzha wed in 1935, settling in Bendzin, Poland.
Hanna Kleiner was born on August 10, 1936 in Nowy Korczyn, Poland to Ruzha and Mordechai (Mordche) Kleiner. Hanna is the first granddaughter of Pinchas and Ester Kleiner and the first grandchild of Moishe and Feigle Zucker.
Hanna with
Yakov and Reisele
(Hanna's Aunt and Uncle)
In 1939, at the age of three, Hanna and her parents moved to Proszowice to live with her father’s parents. Life was peaceful until the Nazis entered the town and ordered all the Jews to meet in the center, the marek.
When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Hanna’s grandfather, Pinchas Kleiner, instructed his children to flee. “Do not give up and do not give in! Each and every one of you must save your own life. God willing, we will meet again after the war.” Hanna's grandfather told her mother,“Ruzha, you must save yourself and Hanna.” After talking to her family, Hanna's grandfather provided five addresses of gentile Poles who would be glad to help hide Jews. He advised them to gather whatever valuables they could in order to trade them if necessary. Hanna and her family went into hiding under a horse barn owned by a farmer and his wife.
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