Free Out of the Shoebox by Yaron Reshef Page B

information I gathered and other bits and
pieces to fill in the blanks; first with regards to Pepe, the new character who
was now part of my family. Pepe was supposedly twelve years younger than my
mother. Seeing as my mother first left Chortkow in 1934, and seeing as Pepe
would have been about eleven at the time, it is likely that my mother didn't
know her well and did not think of her as an integral part of the family. Maybe
that's the reason she never mentioned Pepe in her family stories. To the best
of my knowledge, Mother’s parents' home gradually emptied during the '30s and
her parents, following family tradition, decided to adopt "a new
daughter". I suppose that Pepe had lost her father, or that her poor
family could not afford her school tuition, which would have been exceedingly
expensive at the time so it is possible that my mother's parents decided to act
as they had done before, and provide the girl with a new life, an education and
financial stability. I believe Pepe came from Yazlovets near Buchach, where my
grandfather's family was originally from. I am certain that the mere fact that
Tonia remembered my parents' visit in Chortkow in 1939 shows that the two
girls, 16 year-old Pepe and Tonia, enjoyed playing with my sister Ilana, the
baby who came to Chortkow from Palestine and must have been a bit of an
“attraction”. Tonia also remembers parting with my parents, after which the
world turned upside down. The memorial webpage for Tonia Sternberg's family was
like a window allowing me a peek into the past. The photos told a story of a
different life, friendship among girls rowing a boat down the Seret River, or
proudly posing for the camera in sweaters they had just finished knitting.

    Tonia Sternberg (right) and Pepe Kramer
(left) on the Seret River
    Once
I was able to absorb the new information and form a narrative that I thought
made sense, I quickly responded to Hanna's email:
    "I
am replying this late only because of the time difference, I am currently in
the US. Many thanks for your letter, I was deeply touched. Please send my
thanks to your mother as well. I am sure that bringing up these difficult
memories is not easy for her or for yourself. I admire the people who were able
to survive that hell, and build a new life and new families. It makes any
difficulties we experience in our lives seem trivial by comparison. The
information your mother provided sheds some light on the "black hole"
that is my family history. My mother is about 12 years older than your mother.
When my mother first left Chortkow for Palestine in 1934, her younger brother
Moshe was about 12, approximately the same age as your mother and Pepe. From
the stories I've heard over the years there were probably more orphans in the
Kramer household, just as there were at the Finkelman household, my father's
family. Most likely Pepe Kramer arrived at the house after my mother left for
Palestine in 1934. Chances are she came from a place called Yazlovets
(Jazłowiec in Polish). Yazlovets was close to Buchach and about 50km from
Chortkow. I know that's where the Kramers were from originally and that they
had relatives in Yazlovets. If your mother remembers the name of the town Pepe
came from or where she went on holidays (against her wishes) that mystery would
be solved. I know for a fact that, during the Soviet occupation, the Kramers
moved from, or were forced out of, their large house on Sobieskiego St. to a
house at 10 Szkolna St. They may have moved a few more times in the following
years. I was able to deduce that much from the return-address on the postcards
they sent my mother after the Soviet occupation. The Greenberg family you
mentioned in your email, may have lived in the Kramer’s first house or one of
the others. As for how my mother's family met their end, this is completely new
information to me. I was vaguely aware of hidden bunkers and tunnels, from
stories that Zelda Finkelman-Liebling told me, but I had never heard such