Excerpt from the article: 

Life goes by, day after day. It has its ups and downs. His wife is unwell again. He stands in front of the synagogue in Wrocław and lights another cigarette. “It would be silly to die for no reason”, he says, and laughs.

“His aunt lived nearby. “What do you want from me, auntie?” he asked, calling her ‘auntie’ for the first time in years. She looked at him and said, “Your father was not your real father. You are the son of Josef Gutkin who was a Jew from a town near Lviv. We’ve been hiding the truth from you for so many years, but I must tell you before I die. Your mother got married when you were four.”

It would be hard to find any foul insults that he didn’t throw at her after that. She didn’t protest, even though she was taken aback hearing such strong language from him. She had remained silent for years not to hurt him. But his life could have taken a completely different turn had he known the truth. She tried to convince him that truth changes nothing: after all he went to school, got a degree, became a teacher. What else did he want?”

Translation: Aga Zano

Proofreading: Barbara Pendzich, Maximilian Eisenhardt

To read full article order the current issue of Chidusz at office[at]chidusz.com (digital 20 PLN, print 30 PLN + shipping)

To help us continue publishing Chidusz, please support us with a donation