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Anita Ekstein was Born
She was born to her parents Edzia and Fischel Helfgott in the town of Lwow, Poland. She was thier first and only child. -
The War Broke Out
Newspaper clipping about the start of the war. "This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note, stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received and that consequently this country is at war with Germany."
— Neville Chamberlain, 3 September 1939 -
The Russians Occupied
Newspaper clipping of the Polish people after the invasion by the Soviets.The Russians occupied her town, thier life went on mostly the same as before. They took over the company where both of her parents worked, her parents continued to work there. They were still free to go and come as they pleased. -
The Russians Began Thieir Retreat
Hitlers proclamation of June 22, 1941The Russians began thier retreat, so the Nazis could take over. The Russians urged her family to leave, but they didn't, which was a fatal mistake. After this, thier landlord hid them in his barn for about 2 weeks. -
Moved to a Ghetto in Skole
Picture of Ghetto similar to the one they stayed in,.This room is probably much like the one Anita and her family stayed in.They moved into the Ghetto in Skole, and both of her parents had to work all day. They lived in a very small room, for all three of them. One day her mother didn't go because she was sick. She stayed at home, and went out to do some shopping. Randomly the SS staged an "akcion" (random round-up). She was taken away. -
Anita's Mother was Killed
Testimonys from SS officers about the Belzec CampThis is a lady at Belzec about to be excecuted. They heard news that her transport was taken to Belzec, which was a death camp. This is where the Nazis killed her mother. -
The Scare of Being Taken Away
At this point in time, her father had met a man named Mr. Matusiewicz, he said that he could smuggle his daughter to a family where she would be safer. So his father accepted and she was shipped off to a cathlic family overnight. She became Anna Jaworska and lived with this family as thier adopted child. This particular night, some soldiers came to the door and they were looking for her, so she hid in the outhouse and luckliy they did not find her. For sake of the familys safty, she went back. -
Returning Back to a New Life
Anita was once again shipped off to another family after living in close quarters with her father. She lived with a preist in the town of Liczkowce. She lived with this family and adopted the Cathlic religion, and learned to like it. -
The Russian Toops Arrived
"The Russians troops arrived I remember they started to come early one morning and they came in trucks, on foot, in broken-down wagons, moving endlessly in a long convoy of cars and trucks. The village people stood and watched. I don't remember any rejoicing or any kind of a celebrations. They just stood there and watched them coming. Once again I was under Russian occupation."
Picture of the Russian Troops marching. -
Living with the Matusiewicz Family
A young woman came to her door to take her back to live with the Matusiewicz family. This lady was Jewsish and she was sent to retch her. The father was taken away to Sibera because he had worked for the Germans. There were a people called the Banderowtse, they would roam the streets at night and kill Poles. One night, they got a knock on thier door, and were forced to leave to go to Stryj. -
Kluczborg
They had to go here after they had no where else to go. She found out that her father was shot and killed at the ghetto where he lived. So, she was all alone, but she was with the Matusiewicz family. She started to go to school. -
She Meets her Long Lost Aunt
Lucy, the Matusiewicz family's child told that her aunt was inside, so she went inside. "She overwhelmed me. She was crying and hugging me and I was in shock. I couldn't react. I couldn't believe it. This wasn't happening. It took quite a while to calm me down." So she goes to Katowice with her aunt and she ends up converting back to Judaism, and becomes proud to be a jew. -
Getting Baptized
She had been studying Catholosism with the Matusiewicz family and she came to belive christ and she wanted to convert. So she did, and she became very religious with catholocism. -
Heading off to Paris
They went to Paris, so they could get a Visa and go to America to her other family. They remained in Paris for 2 years, and she atteneded a school there, and her aunt found work, until they were given a visa. -
Going to Toronto
My aunt and I left for Toronto since they couldnt get to America, and met her family at the train station. "In Toronto at the station we were met by my aunt from New York and my cousins and for the first time in a long while, I had a sense of what family means." -
Getting Married
picture of Anita and her family.She met a man named Frank Ekstein, him and his entire family escaped from Czecholovakia in May 1939, so they escaped the horror of the war. They now have two sons and a daughter, they all have a jewish education. Mr. and Mrs. Matusiewicz are long dead. "I still have nightmares but not as often as I used to. Occasionally, I wake up in a cold sweat, thinking that I am being pursued by the Germans and those memories seem to get brighter as I get older. They will never go away. "
