Vera’s Uncle
Vera’s family came from Czechoslovakia. They were successful factory owners there until Hitler’s regime reared its ugly head. Her father urged the family to leave, but they could not envision the curse that was to come. He begged and pleaded with them, but they trivialized his concerns. When he finally realized that he could not budge them, he decided to save his own little family. They moved to England. It was difficult at first. They missed the support of the large family unit. But, as always happens, they adapted to what now became the norm. Vera and I were at the same boarding school in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. Once, when we shared the same dorm, she recounted the following story to me one night after Matron put off the lights. Our cots were next to each other. We faced each other as she spoke in a soft whisper.
Not too long after they arrived in England, WWII began. Her family in England lost all contact and communication with their relatives in Czechoslovakia. It seemed that they had disappeared into thin air. Can you imagine their anxiety and desperation?
Years passed. The war ended. During all that time, her father tirelessly searched the displacement lists and any other place he could think of, in the hope of finding at least one member of their family. It was all to no avail. He and his wife were sad and disheartened. From having a large, loving, and warm, supportive family environment, they had become a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, and their children. There were no grandparents for their children to be fussed over and spoiled by; no sisters or brothers to confide in; no aunts or uncles, no cousins. Everyone was gone. They felt utterly alone and so bereft.
One day, the husband and the wife decided to go to the cinema. They settled down into their seats, waiting for the main attraction to start. In those days, they showed a segment called Pathe News. As they sat watching it, the husband suddenly jumped up from his seat and cried, “My brother! My brother! That is my brother!” Tears were pouring down his cheeks. People turned around to look at him in astonishment. Pathe News was presenting a segment concerning the displaced survivors of concentration camps. On the screen was the picture of his brother! That day, he became part of the news. That is how Vera’s father found one of his brothers. One wonders what would have happened if the couple had not gone to the cinema that evening. He might never have found his brother. Life takes such twists and turns…