CHAPTER 1

Part One:Before The War

How It All Began

My father's name was Maurycy David Hitner, and hisnickname was Edmund. My mother was called Minaand was nicknamed Nusia.

After a seven-year engagement, my mother and fathermarried and went to live in the city of Kraków (formercapital of Poland). It was there that I was born, on May 28,1930, weighing ten pounds.

I was given the name Henrieta Roza Hitner, but Ihave dropped the name Roza and added a t to Henrieta,becoming Henrietta. They nicknamed me Rita because,according to Mother, the name Henrieta was very long andformal for such a small girl. They cut Henrieta in half, andit became Rita forever. I liked it!

Some days before I was born, my mother's bedroomwas sterilized, along with all the bedclothes, towels, andinstruments needed to conduct the birth.

Afraid that newborn children could be mixed up in thematernity ward, Mother decided to have the child at home.Professor-Doctor Szymanowicz, a famous surgeon of thattime, was hired along with his team. The birth took threedays.

The amount of disappointment I caused by being borna girl was enormous, as Mother feared she would haveto have as many children as necessary to produce a maleheir, and thus preserve the Hitner surname, a name myfather carried as the only son of an important Jewish-Polisharistocratic family.

My mother's first reaction on seeing me was, "Itwasn't worth all that suffering to produce a girl!" But herdisappointment didn't in any way diminish the immenselove she felt for me, despite the severity with which sheraised me.

During the war, however, she thanked God for havinghad a girl, as it would have been impossible to hide acircumcised boy.

Some weeks after I was born, our family moved to thecity of Katowice, where my maternal grandparents lived,Berta and Salo Blum.

My Father's Family

Unfortunately, I never got to know my paternalgrandparents, who died before I was born. Everythingthat I know of them was told to me by my father.

Grandfather Oscar was a local patriarch, owner of theSosnica farm, where he organized traditional festivals atthe end of each harvest. The farmworkers brought theirofferings in enormous baskets carried on their shoulders.On receiving this tribute, Grandfather invited the cutestof the farmworkers to open the festival by dancing withhim.

He died at age forty-two, following a hunt. Afterpursuing a hart at a gallop, he drank a little cool waterfrom a creek and lay down on the grass still sweating. Thushe contracted pneumonia, from which he died.

His funeral was very grand, with the whole city ofPrzemysl turning out. Authorities, representatives of theCatholic Church and of the Jewish community, were therein large numbers, in recognition and mourning. The funeralcortege stretched along the main street of the city. Thecoffin was carried in a glass carriage, and alongside a pageled his horse, which neighed and pranced continually,rearing up in grief at the loss of his owner. His tomb wascompletely covered by the flowers of well-wishers.

All this honor was bestowed on my grandfather becausehe had been an illustrious benefactor to the city: in winterhe sent large quantities of wood to heat the churches andsynagogues, as well as food and money for the less well-off.

My grandmother Helena died of a massive heart attackat the age of forty-five, while taking afternoon tea.

Thus my father became an orphan at the age ofseventeen. An only child, young and wealthy, he didn'thave the experience to manage the land inherited fromhis father. So he sold it and went into cinematography,representing Warner Brothers for the whole of Poland.Later, after marrying my mother, he bought a cinema inKraków.

My Mother's Family

My mother's family comprised grandparents Salo andBerta Blum, my aunt Ala, and my uncles, Edmund,Filip, and Edward. My grandfather Salo was a businessman,owner of a chain of shoe stores, Blum & Binder, inKatowice.

Binder was the name of the firm's junior partner. Theymanufactured, and also imported, the latest styles offootwear from Vienna and Prague. I remember that whenthere was a fight between the partners, Mother was calledon as a peacemaker. Mr. Binder used to say that Mother was"the lady lawyer of the family," since she always resolvedconflicts between the partners in a diplomatic fashion.

Grandpa Salo was a very elegant and vain man. The tailorwho made his suits copied his designs from the Americanmovie star Gary Cooper. In order to get everything just so,Grandpa paid for the tailor to go to the cinema so that hecould see the suit he had to copy.

Grandpa traveled abroad frequently, in order to attendexpositions and bring back the latest fashions for his stores.He was a much respected businessman, whose word wasworth any signature.

Grandma Berta was a witty, vivacious, elegant lady,whose hats were specially ordered from the milliner anddelivered directly to her home. Her activities at homeconsisted of managing the domestic staff, planning themenu for the week, and allocating the funds needed tobuy the provisions.

In addition, she led an intense social life, frequenting thetearooms, where she met up with her friends and daughters(she always enjoyed the company of those younger thanherself) and hosting musical gatherings and fund-raisingcard-playing afternoons.

I went with my grandma to concerts, theatricalproductions, and shows of all types, and we also participatedin various fund-raising events for both the community andoutside.

My grandparents used to spend their vacations at spassuch as Carlsbad or Krynica, where they met the elite ofPolish society.

Aunt Ala, who was one year younger than Mother andextremely vain, was a very eccentric character in both hermanner and dress sense. Separated from her husband,Dolek, she didn't have any children, but she took greatcare of her fox terrier, the little dog Tchiky.

She always dressed elegantly and originally, but in a waythat was sure to attract attention. I especially rememberone of her hats, which was decorated with a little chimneythat had some tulle rising up like smoke.

The heels of her shoes matched the color of her bag orscarf. As she didn't like her front teeth and wanted to havea perfect smile, she didn't think twice about ordering caps,which were rare at that time.

What fascinated me about her was the way her wavyhair framed her face. As she moved her...