Interview with Julia (Maria) Stern - Abraham - London

Experiences in Lemberg and the ghetto there and during the German occupation.

Being saved by a German Civil Servant and a Ukranian convent.

Before the war, I lived with my husband and two children in Krakow, Poland. My husband was a Bank Manager and I, myself, studied to be a tailor in my youth and had a fashion salon, which went very well.

In my youth, I insisted on learning a trade and studied to be a tailor. I was actually a fervent Zionist and wanted to emigrate to Israel. In order to do this, I needed a practical trade. My parents, however, were very much against it. They were not Zionists. They were also not overly pious Jews, but were what I would describe as good Jews. I, thus, visited a technical college and learned everything about tailoring and I was also a teacher for a few years at the same college - This latter profession would prove very beneficial to me during the occupation.

A day before the outbreak of war, we left Krakow to resettle in Lemberg, where my parents lived. I remained there until the end of the war.

During the first two years of the war, Lemberg formed part of the Russian zone of occupation… that means: occupied by the Russians. Nothing happened to us during this time and I may say explicitly that the Russians behaviour was beyond reproach. We could pursue our trades. My husband worked once a week at a bank and I as a Tailor. Our children, a daughter of nine years and a son of five attended school. Apart from that, even though a war was on, that we were occupied by a foreign army and that we considered the Russians invaders and did not love our enemy…, nothing disturbed our existence.

During this time, many Polish Jews were kidnapped and taken to Siberia. These were those Jews who had decided to cross the border into the German zone or had attempted to do so illegally. They were classified as unreliable and transported to Siberia. As we were not of such a mind to emigrate from the Russian occupied zone into the German, we were left alone. We were given Russian passports and nothing more.

When I now think about it, what we later experienced and suffered at the hands of the Germans, I can only say that it was not clear to us at the time that relatively the Russians behaved like angels.

In June 1941, the Germans came and the persecution of the Jews began immediately. This would not have been possible had the Ukranian and Polish populations not gone along with it. Had they not done this, the Germans would first of all have been forced to find out who was a Jew and where they lived. The Ukranians and Poles knew this and immediately informed the German occupiers, so that no-one needed to wait for murder and persecution.

Immediately after the invasion of the Germans, the Jews were ordered into so-called labour camps, where the distribution of so-called work began. To this, belonged, for example, cleaning of the barracks for women. Mothers’ were not permitted to take their daughters to this work, and fathers’, their sons. My husband registered himself as a carpenter as, at the time, it was assumed amongst the Jews, that Jews with practical trades would not be deported. It was in this way that I took my daughter and my husband our small son to work. The work never went by without beatings and brutality. We received no pay and nothing to eat. In order to keep ourselves alive, we furtively sold jewellery and other items belonging to our parents. This was, of course, strictly forbidden, but gentile Poles risked punishment, because they could buy the most beautiful objects for a song in this way. With this money, we bought black market food. Even this was, naturally, forbidden.

In spring 1942, the so-called resettlements began and nobody knew that it concerned evacuation into the gas chambers of Belzec. At the time, 15-20,000 Jews with children went there. Even I was trapped with my husband and children in the school which served as a detention centre and we waited for deportation. As a result of a coincidence that was never really explained, we were brought out of the school by the Council of Jewish Elders and sent back to our already cordoned-off apartment by the Gestapo. We had spent a day and a night in the detention centre. Our parents, who lived in another part of Lemberg were, at this time, left alone. We decided from now on not to let our children onto the streets alone.

In August 1942, the first large-scale operation took place. At the time, the SS put a special stamp on the Jewish permit. It was said that, those who had a stamp on their card, would not be resettled. My husband had such a stamp and felt very secure because of it. I did not have such a stamp. Therefore, we decided that he would take the children and I would seek a hiding place.

We did not believe in the killings and people spoke constantly of resettlement. Continuously during the day and particularly at night, trains departed with Jews…, since that time,

I cannot bear the sound of trains.

We then later found out that some of the transports went directly to Bergen-Belsen. Only the younger people were initially deported to the various concentration camps, where they were slowly killed.

We looked for a hiding place for me and found one in the house next door. There, a Jewish woman had a hat shop, which had, naturally, long since stopped trading and within this closed shop the owner lived with her sister-in-law and niece. I asked her if she would allow me to hide in this shop. We could not think of a better hiding place. The owner did not want me to bring my children with me and, as we did not believe that anything would happen to my husband and children, it was agreed that I would move into the shop and that, each morning before going to work, my husband would give my food to my daughter in the shop on my behalf. He would then collect her in the evening.

At the time, I spent the whole day at the keyhole of the locked shop door and observed what went on in the street. I saw how my husband went to work every morning with our son, and saw them return in the evening. I also saw the Gestapo and the leading away of the Jews.

On the afternoon of the 5th of August, it was the fifth day of the operation, one of the womens’ brothers came, who had hidden me and said It’s terrible today! Today, they’re taking the children!

I got a terrible shock and begged her brother to get a message to my husband from me that he should hide our children, but it was already too late!

From the keyhole, I could only see what happened directly in front of the house. And, upon hearing the Gestapo and seeing them pass by, I did not know that they had gone into the house next-door. We could hear how a member of the SS asked the Landlady for the key to the shop. The landlady did not have the key, but a neighbour said that she had one and went to get it. The SS man put it into the lock of the door leading to our hiding place, but the lock did not work properly. We all stood paralysed with fear. He shook the door and pulled the bell cord up and down, but the door did not open. One kick with his boot would have sufficed to kick it in, but this did not happen. The SS man turned around and left without having opened the door.

We were all still as if possessed. I heard a little girl say loudly to the Landlady outside the house next-door They took Herr Stern and little Uri from our house! And, as the landlady was hard of hearing, she repeated the sentence once more even louder.

It was in this way that I learnt that they had taken my husband and child.

I never heard from them again. When it was dark, I wanted to go onto the street to look for them. The Jewish shopkeeper was very friendly. The sister-in-law and niece fainted after the affair with the SS man at the door. They are now all dead. I spent 14 days wandering the streets at the time and tried to find out anything I could, but it was in vain.

My parents were still alive. They were, along with 120 others, in hiding in an attic. At this time, the Germans had killed 40,000 Jews. Later, a ghetto was opened. All Jews had to go there voluntarily. It was a very small and cramped ghetto. We lived 8 people to a formerly very small commercial premises. I had my parents with me there, who only there learned of the disappearance of my husband and son.

We all had to live inside the ghetto and work outside it. About six weeks after the operation I found work as a tailor for two secretaries from the German Housing Office. The first secretary was called Irmgard Wieth. She was about 30 years old and came from Strasbourg where her father was a teacher at the grammar school. She was very enthusiastic to have found a good tailor and spoke to me often. She also enquired as to what had happened to my husband and child, whereupon she said Why did you not hide the child? At the time, I said to myself that she had to be a kind-hearted person, who sympathised and thought that I would possibly turn to her in an emergency.

Like all German civil servants, Frau Wieth was very good at general management. She lived in a very nice one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and bath. She was supplied with considerable quantities of food and clothes in particular. These were clothes which had been taken from Jews. It was these clothes which I had to alter for her.

In November 1942, a second operation began. In the very first night, I coincidentally did not find myself in the ghetto, but my parents and my daughter were there. I had spent the whole day working at a Polish lady’s. It was late and I said I wanted to go. She said that I had better stay the night there. Jews were not allowed on the streets at night, so I stayed. Very early, it was still dark, my daughter came. She had run away from the ghetto, so I took my daughter to work with me in the Housing Office. During the night and the following day, many Jews were arrested, who were not employed in the Wehrmacht and, as I turned up at the Housing Office, I was told We are no longer allowed to employ you!

Most of the Jews, who had worked at the Housing Office, did not go, only a very few, who knew nothing of the matter, like me,

went to work at the Housing Office that morning.

I was totally helpless. It was quite clear to me, if I returned to the ghetto now with my daughter, we would be killed. And, as I saw no other way out, I crept to Frau Wieth and asked her if I could not, at least, give her my daughter for a few days. Her first reaction was great surprise. How can I do that? She asked me. I know that you are alone in your apartment! I said that I knew why she hesitated; she was uncertain, as only Germans lived in the block. Finally, she explained that she would have to think about it.

For the whole day, I sat in the corridor of the Housing Office and waited. Some Jews were needed for black market work. Now and again, Frau Wieth appeared in order to see if I was still there. The other Jews, who were sitting there, asked me what I was going to do. I was scared to say anything to them. I could not say anything to them. Somehow, I had the feeling that Frau Wieth would help me in the end, but nobody should know this.

Around about evening, Frau Wieth appeared again in the corridor and collected me. I must speak with my colleague she said. Please wait! The colleague, the second secretary, with whom she was close friends, and for whom I had also altered clothes, as well as for a male supervisor. After quite a long time, she appeared once more and said to me It’s OK! Take your armband off (with the yellow star of David) and throw it away. Then, walk slowly and calmly along the street towards the tram stop. My friend and the Town Councillor will go before you and I will follow.

It was in this manner that we walked through the whole town and were brought into Frau Wieth’s apartment. She only had potatoes to eat in her apartment, as she almost always ate in the canteen at work. This was all the same to us. We were happy with the potatoes.

I stayed at Frau Wieth’s for two weeks with my daughter. I made enquiries as to whether the operation was over yet. I was very fearful for my parents. I did not know whether they were still alive. It was only after two weeks that Frau Wieth let me go. I had to go into the ghetto to find my parents. They were both alive, but they both believed that my daughter and I were no longer alive. I returned to Frau Wieth’s apartment and explained to her that I absolutely had to return to the ghetto. I could not leave my parents alone there.

In the meantime, new armbands had been distributed to the Jews, with the insignia of the Wehrmacht. Frau Wieth knew a Jewish Doctor and she asked where she could get an armband for me. The Jewish Doctor was very surprised when he heard that Frau Wieth had kept a Jew in hiding and he asked her to take a relative of his. He offered her a great deal of money for this.

Frau Wieth came and told us that she was utterly disgusted. I’m not doing it for money! she explained. If I have you and your child at my home, I have a clear conscience…, but for money? No way!

Again and again she protested when I told her I must return to the ghetto to my parents. Alright! she said one day. Go, if you have to! But Lilith (that was my daughter) is staying with me! That’s a shame for the Gestapo. They’ll shoot you one day and then I’ll adopt Lilith!

I then got my new armband with her help, went back into the ghetto and my daughter remained with her. Despite the armband, my position was very complicated. Possession of an armband ought to prove that the wearer had work with the Wehrmacht, but I had no such work. I had, first of all, to acquire it illegally. This, I did as soon as I had succeeded in getting back into the ghetto and some work in the factory. The Director of this factory was very understanding towards Jews and was very good to them. I was even allowed to take my father into the factory with me. Had I not been able to do this, he would have been killed at that time. He was 63 years old; I said he was 55 and therefore he was allowed to come to work with me in the factory. Every morning, we always left the ghetto with a group of 35 Jews, in order to go to the factory. The groups, who went to work, were always led by a band of musicians composed of Jews, who had to play pleasing melodies. It was always the same torment for me each morning and I had the feeling that I was losing ever more nerves each morning. But, this was, of course, the intention of the Nazis. They were quite systematically driving us all mad! They wanted to ruin our nerves.

From the groups of those going to work, there were, daily, hundreds brought out and murdered. You never knew, when leaving the ghetto, whether you would return alive. It was in this way that countless Jews disappeared into nothingness. In March 1943, they took my father from me at the entrance of the ghetto and I never saw him again.

Every Saturday evening, I furtively joined a group of Jews who were working during the night. In the darkness of the street, I discreetly took off my armband and crept away through the whole town to Frau Wieth. Then, during the following Sunday, I altered her clothes, for it was only in this way that I could thank her for what she had done for my daughter. For some reason, Frau Wieth loved my needlework and, as her only interest was clothes, the work never came to an end. One of her rooms was full of cupboards filled with clothes. This is how I spent Sundays’ with her and every Monday, at 3.30am I crept from Frau Wieth's, through the town and back into the ghetto in such a way that I joined a group of Jews unobserved returning from working through the night.

In the ghetto,

I turned around and went with another group who were going to work through the day in the factory, outside of the ghetto. The whole thing was, naturally, very dangerous and Frau Wieth said to me again and again that I would definitely be caught by the Gestapo one day. The streets were full of Germans, Ukrainians and Poles, who might recognise me. Even if I was inconspicuous, anyone could see that I looked very rough and hungry, as all Jews looked in comparison to other people on the streets. This is how I spent every weekend from December 1942 until the end of May 1943 without anything ever happening to me.

On the 31st of May, it was proclaimed The ghetto will be liquidated on the 1st of June. All Jews within it must voluntarily report to the concentration camp

The owner of our factory tried once more to help all of the Jews who had worked for him, so that we did not need to go into the camp. He negotiated with the Gestapo and explained that our 35 strong group of Jews could live in the factory. He promised the Gestapo that he would have a particularly good leather overcoat illegally finished for each one of them and the Gestapo agreed.

However, after they had received their overcoats, they insisted that the Jews would have to leave the factory for the camp.

As I left the ghetto, in order to resettle in the factory, I was not allowed to take my mother with me. She had had typhus and pneumonia and was very weak, but had survived both. I, thus, smuggled her out of the ghetto into the factory. And now we were supposed to go into the camp and the Director was ordered to hasten all of us into this camp.

I did not know what to do! I knew that if I hid, I could probably save myself by getting to Frau Wieth during the night, but this would mean that I would have to leave my mother to go into the concentration camp alone, and I could not bring myself to do that. To take her with me to Frau Wieth was impossible. It was also too far and she was too weak. I spoke to the Director of the factory and begged him to help us in any way he could. I was in the Director’s office during this conversation and my mother was in one of the rooms of the factory. She must have felt what was going on inside me. I suddenly heard a large noise and disquiet in the square. Your mother has fallen out of the window! At first, I did not catch on at all and continued to talk to the Director, until someone came up to me again and called me. This time, I understood. I raced down the staircase into the square. I found my mother in a sea of blood; one eye was missing and the crown of her skull was broken, but she was fully conscious.

I called like mad for the medics. I had totally forgotten in my excitement that Jews had no right to medical assistance. I phoned them and asked them to come immediately. As time passed and no-one arrived, I ran in order to ask why no-one was coming. I was then told that the medics had turned up, but had left again upon being told the matter concerned a Jew.

In the meantime, the Director had readied a car in which his group of Jews would be conveyed to the concentration camp. Upon my request, he had a stretcher brought upon which my mother was laid. The Director then ordered that we be brought to the ghetto..., to the ghetto hospital and be dropped off there. Then, the remaining passengers would be taken to the camp. This event saved my life.

I knew that the ghetto was to be burned down the following day and I knew that my mother, like everyone else, had an even greater fear of the ghetto hospital, as it was very brutal there and that those patients to be treated, who could not be saved, were thrown out of the window.

So, I sat in the car next to my mother, who was still fully conscious, and yet blood nevertheless streamed incessantly from her wounds. I must take you to the ghetto hospital! I said to her. Are you afraid? To which she replied I’m not afraid!

I was fully aware of the fact that my mother had attempted to kill herself, in order to free me, so that I was free to go to my child and try to save us both.

Upon arriving in the hospital, we carried my mother in and placed the stretcher in the bathroom. All those Jews who had been in the hospital were about to leave. They all asked me if I was crazy to have come back with my mother. Within the hospital, I found a doctor and no patients. They had murdered them all in the last few days. Some attempted to lift my mother out of the continually streaming blood. I asked the Doctor to help her. He said that he had no medication or anything else. I, nevertheless, asked him again and again. Jews ran in and out of the camp. I, once again, looked in the room where my mother lay. She said Go with God! I am now with God!

I shut the door and looked once again for the Doctor. I still had 200 Zloty which I had hidden on my person. This, I gave to him. Here! Take this Doctor! and I asked him one last time to give my mother something..., something which worked quickly.

Finally, he promised! Whether he actually did it..., I’ll never know!

Then, I ran down and out of the hospital and joined a group of Jews leaving the ghetto for the concentration camp. I ran like an automaton beside them. I ran totally possessed and desparately. I did not think for a minute about taking off my armband and to try to get to my child. Through pure coincidence, the whole time I ran next to a young relative of mine..., a cousin. She spoke incessantly to me, but I did not listen at all and ran on. But she did not give up. Again and again she said to me..., Go away! You must go to your child! Run! Quickly! Go! Again, I did not react and my cousin spoke on You must go! Quickly! Otherwise it’s too late!

I cannot explain it, how it suddenly happened and as I quite suddenly had the impulse to carefully take off my armband and allow it to disappear into my pocket as we got quite close to the gates of the camp. Just as automatically, I slipped away from the group, which carried on. Poles and Ukrainians were standing at the gates of the camp and looked on transfixed at how the Jews went voluntarily and without any supervision whatsoever into the camp and to their deaths.

I also do not know how I arrived totally unharmed into the block and Frau Wieth's apartment. A few weeks earlier, Frau Wieth had taken a Jewish couple in and as I now arrived and asked her to remain, four people were there, who she was hiding. This was in June 1943.

The situation was very complicated for Frau Wieth, as it was for us. It was horrifying for us to consider what Frau Wieth was risking in order to save us. We also had to eat, but we did not want to burden Frau Wieth at all with such matters, so I disguised myself as a country peasant, barefoot and crept out of the house to get something to eat. It was only a little, as everything came from the black market, as we had no other food. Only Germans lived in the block, who naturally, knew that Frau Wieth worked all day in the Housing Office and that her apartment was empty all day. We scarcely dare not appear. A period of time thus passed, during which we and Frau Wieth became ever more nervous.

Then, one day, Frau Wieth suddenly received a telegram from Amsterdam from an old friend of hers, who informed her that he had two weeks leave and was coming to visit. Frau Wieth was totally beside herself and explained that we would have to make ourselves scarce. Good! I said. I saw her terrifying fear and wanted, initially, to calm her.

I will try to find somewhere for us! It was, however, totally impossible for me.

The married Jewish couple, the husband of whom was a Pharmacist, had zyankali. He suggested that we share the poison, so that we could all poison ourselves. I told Frau Wieth that she should not worry, that we would leave her apartment and find somewhere to commit suicide. Frau Wieth protested vehemently. You don’t know where to go! Even she was afraid.

We gathered together and made a plan. The dining room next to the kitchen was emptied and, from now on, we always locked ourselves in when Frau Wieth had visitors. Beforehand, we stayed in the kitchen, where nobody went. Moreover, it was decided that during the visit of Frau Wieth's friend from Amsterdam, the Pharmacist and my daughter would be locked in the dining room. His wife would openly pose as Frau Wieth's cook, who also lived with her and I would pose a her Tailor, who would work for her during the day and go home in the evening. I had to act as if I was leaving. These roles we then both played. The cook lived officially at Frau Wieth and slept in the kitchen. It was in this way that her friend could not go into the kitchen in the evening. Every evening I would loudly say Adieu!; Frau Wieth would accompany me to the door of her apartment and whilst she opened and closed the door loudly and acted as though she was still talking to me, I crept back to the kitchen on tiptoes. All four of us slept in the kitchen on the floor, that is, in reality we did not sleep much. We constantly worried about one another, that one of us would make some kind of suspicious noise, talk whilst sleeping or even snore and so we all took care of each other.

During the day, Frau Wieth always went to work in the Housing Office and the friend stayed at the apartment. He continually went into the kitchen to talk to us. The Pharmacist and my daughter sat on the floor of the dining room. I placed a large table in front of the door to the dining room and spread my sewing out there. I did not speak much and when I did speak, I did so only a very little and in bad German. I always acted as though I did not understand what her friend said. He talked for hours on end and gave us long lectures about the war and the increasing English air raids.

Sometimes, I left the kitchen and acted as though I had something to do in one of the rooms…, then I called him to help me with some hastily made-up chore, in order, in this way, to get him out of the kitchen.

As we all spoke to each other in whispers, Frau Wieth became acquainted with this when she was at home. Her friend picked up upon this. He could not understand and would, therefore, ask her about it, or he would come out to me

in the kitchen to ask me whether I could understand why Frau Wieth whispered so strangely and why she was so terribly nervous. I always said I could not understand and gave all sorts of reasons in my broken German. Two weeks finally came to an end and he went back to Amsterdam and we were all alone once more.

A new problem surfaced when Frau Wieth was supposed to go on holiday for two weeks to her mother’s. This time, she had to leave us all alone in the flat. She had no other option but to lock us in for the whole time she was away. We could not even so much as move as the apartment was, of course, officially empty. My daughter wasn’t allowed to sneeze; we weren’t able to pull the chain on the toilet…, but, this time, everything went well and when Frau Wieth returned from holiday, all was well.

Yet, Frau Wieth became less calm and ever more nervous. We did what we could to calm her down, but there was really nothing we could do as we were, of course, the reason for her disquiet. We became accustomed to reading her every wish from her eyes and we behaved like slaves to serve her and to be helpful to her. In the meantime, she had formed a relationship with a Wehrmacht officer, who often visited her. He would always stay in the front room and never went into the kitchen.

For some inexplicable reason, her friend in Amsterdam learned of her friendship with the Wehrmacht officer and he, thus, appeared one day from Amsterdam out of sheer jealousy without announcing his arrival beforehand. He kicked up such a fuss at the front door that we all reeled in shock, as we all believed it was the Gestapo. All four of us hastily disappeared into the kitchen, which we locked behind us. Frau Wieth went slowly to the door in order to give us time to disappear. The man stormed in and began charging around like a wild animal, but not in search of us as we had thought, but after the supposed rival. He shook the kitchen door and even looked through the keyhole in order to see whether his rival had, perhaps, hid himself there, but did not see us. He posed a terrible sight, but Frau Wieth finally succeeded in calming him down. He had, of course, found no-one, so he went away.

This time, not only were we more dead than alive when we were alone once more, Frau Wieth was beside herself. It became ever more complicated for us to calm her down. Every time someone knocked on the door she believed it was the Gestapo; she no longer wanted to open the door and it became ever more difficult

to persuade her not to lose her head.

Her friend from Amsterdam did not allow any peace. He got in contact with Frau Wieth friend in the Housing Office, the second Secretary, for whom I had sewn in the beginning and for whose part was asked for advice about Frau Wieth along with the Town Councillor, whether they should have taken on my daughter and I and then, finally, whether they had helped my daughter and I get into Frau Wieth's apartment.

Both Frau Wieth's colleague and her friend advised him, among other things, that Frau Wieth had accommodated my child and I. He then turned up again one day totally surprisingly and barely after the door had opened, beginning to strike out and growled I know everything! You’ve been keeping a Jew and her child in here in hiding! You’ll leave your job in the general government in eight days otherwise I’ll report you!

Frau Wieth began to cry and eventually convinced him to go with her into a room and not remain in the corridor, where all the other occupants could hear what he was saying. The argument then continued for hours, whilst we crouched down with fear in the dining room. He, then, eventually went away.

From now on…, from March 1944, all four of us lived almost exclusively in the dining room. Frau Wieth then received orders to leave Lemberg. The Germans dissolved the administration of the general government before the arrival of the approaching Russians and Frau Wieth was to travel with the remaining civil servants back to Germany. Now, for all four of us, it became essential to find a new hiding place.

The Jewish couple, who were hidden with us, had contacts in the Greek-Orthodox community, that is, the Ukrainian convent in Lemberg and with the Metropolite Szepticki, who had already kept around 60 Jews in hiding with him or in other convents. This involved the families of Rabbis’ in particular. The Pharmacist knew these people and his son was in hiding there. He and his wife now turned to Szepticki asking for help. Frau Wieth insisted that she would tell the entire truth to the Metropolite. She would make it clear to him that they were hidden at Frau Wieth's with my daughter and me and that she would really ask him to take all four of us. In the beginning she asked, later, she insisted. I knew from the very beginning that this would be very difficult. In order to be taken into a Ukrainian convent you had to have very good contacts and references. The married couple had such with the Metropolite and with other diverse convents, who were subordinate to them. They not only had references, but also documents. I, however, had neither one nor the other.

In response to this, I told the Pharmacist that he should, in the first instance, do everything possible to save his wife and himself. I did not believe for a second that he would do the slightest thing for me. I asked him only at the very end that, should he be successful in finding shelter for him and his wife, to put in a word for my daughter and me.

Despite his contacts at the convent, the couple had the greatest difficult being accepted and their discussions went back and forth for weeks. I had no idea what would become of me and my child and it was very bad, as Frau Wieth had, initially, to pack her things. At the time, I just thought constantly how lucky it was that we had the zyankali. Then, a miracle happened! The couple had finally succeeded in persuading the Metropolite to take us in. And, exactly 24 hours before they had to leave our house, a nun in the convent, where the woman was to be taken in, agreed to take in my daughter and me. Of course, she insisted that we would have to move into the convent within 24 hours. This was difficult for me, as I had promised Frau Wieth I would remain with her until her departure and help her. There was, thus, no option for me other than to take my child to the convent for 11 o’clock the next day. Once there, I explained to the nun why I had to return to Frau Wieth and then returned to her apartment. I helped her pack and took her to the train; then I went to the convent as well.

I could, of course, not speak Ukrainian, yet they were very good to us. My daughter went into an orphanage annexed to the convent. And, again, I was lucky that I could sew. I was immediately given a sewing machine and a pile of sewing. It was in this way that I sewed for the orphans until the end of the war. We were fed well and amply and actually began to recover somewhat physically.

A fairly long while passed until I began to notice that the nun was becoming rather a little less frien

dly with me than at the beginning. Finally, one day, a Jewish woman said to me, who was also hiding in the convent, rather as if in passing, the nun no longer wants you here, because you won’t be baptised!I was absolutely horrified, as I had not given it any thought at all. It was then explained to me that those supervising the convent always expected such things without having to speak of it. Although I was anything but that which could be described as a pious Jew, I stuck to my beliefs and the thought of baptism to me was horrifying. At that time, I could not sleep for many nights until I decided to have my daughter and myself baptised. But, the nun’s stance became ever more unpleasant and so I went to her one day and explained that I would like to have my daughter and I baptised. The nun immediately became filled with interest

and changed her

stance in an instant. A priest was assigned the task of instructing my daughter and I. My daughter was immensely pleased. She found everything great and was completely happy and content. And, with that, I had no way out, if I wanted to save my life and my child’s life. One night, I dreamt of my father. In my dream, I asked him what I should do. He replied very calmly Just do it! It is the right thing to do! There is, of course, only one God! Afterwards, it was much easier for me. One day, news arrived from Frau Wieth. She was back in Lemberg and wanted all four of us to go back to her. The nun quite energetically denounced the idea. The Pharmacist’s wife, whom she did not like very much, she wanted to leave, but neither my daughter nor I could go. So, we stayed in the convent.

During the preparations for the baptism, we had to attend mass every Sunday and the church was located in the district in which we had earlier lived when my husband and son were still alive. I was always afraid when I was going to and from the church that someone would recognise me. I was well dressed again and looked well-kept and nourished once more. It was easy to recognise me again.

Many people, who previously knew me, went to this church and followed me from the service to the convent. I immediately reported it to the nun and was immediately resettled into the orphanage.

At the same time, the nun explained to the Pharmacist’s wife that it would be better if she returned to Frau Wieth, as she could no longer keep her at the convent. There was nothing else for the woman to do but to go. I, however, was sent, first of all, to ask Frau Wieth for the key to her apartment. The Pharmacist’s wife later remained in Frau Wieth's apartment and, after Frau Wieth was ordered back to Germany, quite a few Germans vacated this block and Lemberg.

When the Russians came, they behaved exactly as they had in the beginning…, thoroughly correctly. No-one harassed us; we could come and go as we pleased. This time, we really had the feeling that they were angels who had liberated us.

At my baptism, I was given the name Maria.

Sometime after the end of the war, I was able to send my daughter to England through an international aid organisation.

I

then gave her the task of immediately trying to get in contact with Frau Wieth. I had the address of her parents in Germany and really wanted to know whether she was alive and how she was. My daughter succeeded in contacting Frau Wieth. She was alive, but was obviously not doing too well. When I arrived in England a year after my daughter, I tried to acquire food and clothes for Frau Wieth. This was made possible with the help of an American aid organisation, which declared itself in the case. We began to become interested in Frau Wieth and, initially, began one day to visit us in England. It was very exciting to see her again. At the time, she explained that she no longer wanted to remain in Germany and with the assistance of the same American aid organisation, I was actually able to make it possible, that she went to the USA. There, she found employment and remained there. She no longer wishes to return to Germany. She works for a Jewish family, whose household she manages. Her love for my daughter hasn’t changed. When my daughter got married two years ago and resettled in New York with her English husband, Frau Wieth was ready to help both of them. I, myself, married my current husband one and a half years ago and had to remain in England. Frau Wieth intends to acquire American nationality and will very soon receive the corresponding documents.

April 1957, London (gez.) Leoyliex Stern-Abraham