My parents were originally from a small town near the larger city of Lodz, in Poland. They came to live in Paris right after their marriage in , and I was born there in August of Ours was a large family.
My mother and father were cousins and each had six brothers and sisters. The two families were very close. They helped one another. My mother, for example, worked for her brother. Life was difficult, as far back as I can remember.
Work was hard to find. But, we had a life rich with companionship and caring for one another. The war broke out in ; but the fighting was soon over.
In the meantime, there was such fear of the impending German invasion in Paris that it started an exodus from the city. And he did, along with many others. He and a friend took the road South together on foot. My father made it all the way to Bordeaux; but, as soon as he got there, he had second thoughts. He began to wonder what he was doing there alone while we remained in Paris. So he hopped a freight train, and he came back.
I remember the Germans marching into Paris in I remember the air raids, the foul smell of the gas masks, the run on sugar, flour and other staples, the rationing, the rumors… Fear and worry began to hang in the air like a fog. First the Jews were ordered to register at the police station. Not long after that, we were told to turn in our radios.
