Page 58 - May-June-July Life In Naples
P. 58
MY BEAUTIFUL Ma OtriTbuHteERto
Sara Galker
by Dr Judith Friedland all ages along with pigs.
The family escaped from
M y mother’s family was like any Poland on a pig boat.
other large, poor family, or so
they thought, living in a small My mother was the
house in Poland just prior to WWII. The youngest of the siblings.
family shared household responsibilities, I learned about their
played together, and prayed together. Then story years later by
one horrible day, the Nazi Party launched eavesdropping on my
their well thought out plan to spread seeds mother and grandmother
of hate. The Nazis succeeded in blaming while they whispered to
the Jews for anything and everything one another at night in
that went wrong in the lives of the Polish our apartment in New
people. Suddenly their neighbors of years York. Each person on the
were no longer their friends. Neighbors boat had limited space,
threw rocks at their windows shattering food and water. Sufficient
the glass. Dirty Jew was painted on the bathroom facilities were
walls of their home. Neighbors stopped nonexistent. Inwardly
talking to them and anti-Semitism was on frightened the family
the rise. They had to do something quickly never thought they would
but what, where and when? reach American shores.
Weeks or perhaps even
Relatives in America were cognizant months later, the boat
of their situation and worked endlessly finally reached America. All cried for joy as the boat docked.
to raise as much money as they possibly My mother was eight years old when the boat docked in America. When the people
could to bring the whole family to were allowed to leave the boat, my mother ran ahead of everyone. She wanted to be
America. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the first to touch and kiss American soil and she thanked G-d for bringing them to
enough money and time was not on their America.
side. It was decided that my grandmother The family settled into an apartment in the tenements of New York. While the older
and six of the youngest children were to children worked and eventually married, my mother still attended school. My mother
be smuggled out first while the rest were was the only one of the siblings who graduated from high school and she was the only
to follow soon after. one who didn’t have an accent.
My beautiful mother, who experienced much pain in her life, didn’t talk about the
During the night the family was led past for a while after my grandmother died, but when I was older she started to confide
to the boat that would take them to in me. I felt privileged to be her confidant and I wanted to know everything.
America. They were told to go the very To have known my mother was to have loved her. She was highly intelligent, kind,
bottom of the boat where they could hide caring, creative, loving and the list goes on and on. Whatever my mother did she did
effectively from the Nazis. The bottom extremely well whether it was in her family life, or in her business life. We shared so
of the boat was packed with people of many precious unforgettable moments together. We often went to the library, or the
zoo, or to the movies, or to a show on Broadway, or just talked. I loved being with her.
Since I was a good student, my mother encouraged me to further my education on a
university level. My mother knew how important that was to me. Prior to her passing,
she did see me earn my doctorate.
My mother was my lifelong inspiration and the wonderful example upon which I
patterned my life. G-d bless you mom. I love you!
58 Life in Naples | May • June • July 2016
