Gertruda's Oath: A Child, a Promise, and a Heroic Escape During World War II by Ram Oren Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ram Oren
friends, learned English by correspondence, knitted sweaters for Michael, and turned up her nose at the clumsy courtship attempts of Emil, the chauffeur. After her great disappointment in love, she wasn’t interested in men.
4.
Hava Stolowitzky, Jacob’s mother, died in her bed on September 22, 1938, after a long and difficult illness. Less than three months later, her husband, Moshe, suffered a stroke at a business meeting in his office and was taken to the hospital, where he lay unconscious for a week. When he finally came to, half his body was paralyzed and he spoke only gibberish. His son, Jacob, hired the best doctors for him, sat at his bed day and night, and no one was happier when at long last his father opened his eyes and looked at his son.
“I don’t know if I’ll stay alive,” said Moshe Stolowitzky with a great effort. “Something is worrying me, my son. The situation in Germany is getting worse by the day. Hitler is building a big army, too big, and he’s crazy enough to go to war to conquer all of Europe. I’m afraid that chaos will rule the world, and many businesses willfail. I intend to sell all my property and transfer the money to a bank in Switzerland. That money can be withdrawn in a crisis, invested wisely, and earn several times over. If I die, I suggest you do that instead of me.”
Moshe Stolowitzky died a few days later. Thousands attended his funeral in the big Jewish cemetery in northern Warsaw. He was buried next to his wife, near the grave of the writer Y. L. Peretz. On the Stolowitzky couple’s marble tombstone, inside a stylized iron fence, was a tablet of a hand contributing to a charity box, a reference to their generosity.
With the death of Hava and Moshe Stolowitzky, the mansion and the rest of the property was transferred to their son, Jacob. His wife, Lydia, spent a few months redecorating the mansion to suit her taste. Jacob worked hard to master the many deals his father left him and to guarantee his clients that every contract signed by his father would be honored in full.
Michael grew up like a prince in the fairy tales. His clothes were made by a well-known tailor, the cook made sure the child ate only high-quality food, and Gertruda didn’t let him out of her sight from the minute he woke up to the time he went to sleep.
Lydia was very proud of the new look of the mansion and wanted to impress others with it, too. The housewarming for the new interior was celebrated with a ball for the dignitaries of Poland and the wealthy of Europe. The famous bass singer Feodor Chaliapin, accompanied by the best musicians of Warsaw, entertained the guests with opera pieces in the big ballroom. Wine flowed like water, and the mood was lively.
Jacob Stolowitzky followed his father’s orders and sold most ofhis properties for good prices. With the help of his friend, the Swiss attorney Joachim Turner, he deposited the millions he received in a few banks in Switzerland. He was sure he was doing the right thing. His father’s advice and his instincts about coming events always turned out to be right.
5.
Ever since her grim struggle to have a child, Lydia Stolowitzky had become superstitious and feared that someday their good luck would run out. Even though there was no obvious reason to fear an impending disaster, she was afraid that something bad would happen to her only son, that happiness would vanish, that the business would collapse. Her husband patiently put up with her long monologues and her accounts of bad omens, and tried in vain to dissipate her anxieties.
If Lydia wanted triumphant proof that her fears had some basis, she got it one Saturday afternoon. It was a warm sunny day and the Stolowitzky family was at the usual Sabbath meal. One maid cleared the plates of the first course and another brought the second. There was a good mood at the table. Jacob told of a new contract he was about to sign with the Soviet government to lay iron tracks from Moscow to
4.
Hava Stolowitzky, Jacob’s mother, died in her bed on September 22, 1938, after a long and difficult illness. Less than three months later, her husband, Moshe, suffered a stroke at a business meeting in his office and was taken to the hospital, where he lay unconscious for a week. When he finally came to, half his body was paralyzed and he spoke only gibberish. His son, Jacob, hired the best doctors for him, sat at his bed day and night, and no one was happier when at long last his father opened his eyes and looked at his son.
“I don’t know if I’ll stay alive,” said Moshe Stolowitzky with a great effort. “Something is worrying me, my son. The situation in Germany is getting worse by the day. Hitler is building a big army, too big, and he’s crazy enough to go to war to conquer all of Europe. I’m afraid that chaos will rule the world, and many businesses willfail. I intend to sell all my property and transfer the money to a bank in Switzerland. That money can be withdrawn in a crisis, invested wisely, and earn several times over. If I die, I suggest you do that instead of me.”
Moshe Stolowitzky died a few days later. Thousands attended his funeral in the big Jewish cemetery in northern Warsaw. He was buried next to his wife, near the grave of the writer Y. L. Peretz. On the Stolowitzky couple’s marble tombstone, inside a stylized iron fence, was a tablet of a hand contributing to a charity box, a reference to their generosity.
With the death of Hava and Moshe Stolowitzky, the mansion and the rest of the property was transferred to their son, Jacob. His wife, Lydia, spent a few months redecorating the mansion to suit her taste. Jacob worked hard to master the many deals his father left him and to guarantee his clients that every contract signed by his father would be honored in full.
Michael grew up like a prince in the fairy tales. His clothes were made by a well-known tailor, the cook made sure the child ate only high-quality food, and Gertruda didn’t let him out of her sight from the minute he woke up to the time he went to sleep.
Lydia was very proud of the new look of the mansion and wanted to impress others with it, too. The housewarming for the new interior was celebrated with a ball for the dignitaries of Poland and the wealthy of Europe. The famous bass singer Feodor Chaliapin, accompanied by the best musicians of Warsaw, entertained the guests with opera pieces in the big ballroom. Wine flowed like water, and the mood was lively.
Jacob Stolowitzky followed his father’s orders and sold most ofhis properties for good prices. With the help of his friend, the Swiss attorney Joachim Turner, he deposited the millions he received in a few banks in Switzerland. He was sure he was doing the right thing. His father’s advice and his instincts about coming events always turned out to be right.
5.
Ever since her grim struggle to have a child, Lydia Stolowitzky had become superstitious and feared that someday their good luck would run out. Even though there was no obvious reason to fear an impending disaster, she was afraid that something bad would happen to her only son, that happiness would vanish, that the business would collapse. Her husband patiently put up with her long monologues and her accounts of bad omens, and tried in vain to dissipate her anxieties.
If Lydia wanted triumphant proof that her fears had some basis, she got it one Saturday afternoon. It was a warm sunny day and the Stolowitzky family was at the usual Sabbath meal. One maid cleared the plates of the first course and another brought the second. There was a good mood at the table. Jacob told of a new contract he was about to sign with the Soviet government to lay iron tracks from Moscow to
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