My mother and my four sisters survived as well as a few cousins. My mother's brother, who fled to England at the beginning of the war also survived.
We lived in Lodz on Mariaszynska Street, #10, I think. My father’s mother’s maiden name was Lieberman. In 1939 before the Germans came to Lodz, my father fled to Russia after hearing that the Germans were killing the men, he later returned. My father was religious. He was kind, tall and handsome; he dearly loved his children.
I grew up in a traditional religious Jewish home. On Friday night, my father would go to synagogue and my mother would prepare the home for Shabbos, the Sabbath, with gefilte fish, wine, and home baked Chala (braided bread). It was a nice life.
I was the second oldest daughter. I finished public school, the equivalent of elementary school, and won a scholarship to go on to the Gymnasium. This was like a high school but it was not free. I loved reading and learning; I wanted to be a doctor. My family did not have money and were not able to send me to college. Besides that, in Poland at that time, there was a strict quota for Jews and very few Jews were admitted to college.
I went to work in a textile factory where I was a clerk in the office and handled payroll, billing receivables, and bookkeeping. I lived at home with my parents and siblings and gave my entire salary to the family.
My grandmother’s cousin was a Jewish writer in Lodz, his last name was Broderson. He wrote books in Yiddish and also in the United States. His wife was an artist in the Lodz Theater.