Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

Erna Blitzer Gorman - April 26, 1984

Mother's Family

But um, after that we--I, I think I should continue--after that uh, we... Maybe the war, maybe the Germans were approaching or the war, whatever, but we went to the south. I... I'm not even sure that Ukraine is in the south of Poland. I, I never looked it up on a map, really. Anyhow, so we went to the south and uh, to stay with my mother's family. And I remember him more because he was very uh, they were poor and he was very religious and he used to take me by the hand and go to shul.

This is your mother's father.

Mm-hm.

Do you remember any stories about him? He took you to shul, what else?

He was... I remember him taking me on his knees and playing with, playing with me and um, that I remember. The other one I remembered cross, so... He was very nice. I remember just seeing the black coats and pants in shul because I, I was small and they were all taller.

And your grandmother?

She... I, I, I remember her. She was a small person with a chignon and she was always baking bread and... In the wall there was a big oven like and I, that's all, that's all I see of her, is standing by that oven and baking. And in that household there were two other, my mother's sisters and um, um, and a brother I think.

Were they married?

No, they were single. The women were single. The, the girls were single. I think they must have been younger than my mother. And uh, we, we stayed in that, in that house and it was very small and we all...

There were nine of you?

Yeah, in two room I think. All I can see in my mind is two rooms, so.


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