“The history of our ancestors is like a wall built from the pages of the past”
Maria Palamarciuc
Romania
During World War II, my great-grandfather, my grandmother’s father, Emilian, fought in this war. Unfortunately, the population of his native village suffered a lot, impoverished many families and lost many people in the hungry years of 1946-1947.
When my great-grandfather was at the front, he broke two fingers on his right hand and also then, he met Leica , a Romanian Jew who was to be killed by the soldiers. My great-grandmother, Maria, took care of her and hid her in a cellar near their house. While Leica sewed day and night to forget the pain she suffered , my great-grandfather trained with army in a forest called "Gypsy”, where they learned to shoot from the gun.
After two weeks of training, he was sent by train to Germany, where he stayed for 40 days. While he was there, a close relative of his, Moș Petre, was also taken into the army, but a commander chose who to take. Namely, he was sent to a town close to his village. There, he worked for a German family in agriculture. After a few years, the owner of the land came and asked Moș Petre if he wanted to stay with him or go home. He decided to go home, but what do you think, when he arrived he found his wife and children dead and the house destroyed. Being alone, he remarried an old woman and they had three children.
After the war ended, my great-grandfather was brought from Germany to the hospital in Harmațca to have his wounds treated. There, the screams of pain from the patients could be heard, their legs or arms were broken. Few survived, it was one of the most cruel wars in all of humanity. And every day, my great-grandmother would say some verses she had invented:
“Sister, little one,
Tie up his wound nicely.
So that daddy can come home,
And we can sit happily at the table..."
After my great-grandfather returned, Leica had long since fled, and he lived his life to a ripe old age.