I think stubborness runs in the genes
The other day, I talked to my mother about her family, in particular my grandmother, Maria, for who my middle name comes from. I am supposed to write a story about a family member for my online creative writing class and I am supposed to do some research.
But I felt odd about talking to my mother about her history. I knew that she grew up in Germany right after WWII. But there were more specific things I hadn't asked about, such as my grandfather. I never hear anything about him. Perhaps there was a reason for that. But I got her on the phone, and I did anyway.
Mostly we talked about my grandmother, Maria. My grandmother was Lithowanian. My great-grandmother married a German man right before WWI, and moved into Germany, leaving her children behind. My grandmother was little and unable to care for herself, so she was taken in by an orphanage run by nuns. When she was eight, she was kicked out because supposedly she had a grandmother in England. Luckily she was taken in by a Jewish family, and so she was cared for and raised by them as she helped take care of the house. She learned how to cook and care for a house and animals, all the things she would need later on in life to survive.
When she was old enough, right before WWII, she moved to Germany. During the times, apparently she was held as they checked her bloodline. She checked out fine, but Mom's not sure why. She ended up meeting a soldier who was to become my grandfather.
Basically, my grandfather was abeled "missing in action" in Russia. He was in the German army and he was one of the soldiers sent to Siberia.
Another fun fact is that my Great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my mom were in an apartment building that was hit by a bomb. Now I have heard this story before, but never realized that they were actually IN the building at the time. Mom was only 13 months or so, and she was burried along with them. Her cries were the reason she and my grandmother were unburried first and so they lived. But my great-grandmother did not.
My mom actually has a huge family which I didn't know about. But they were all seperated during the war.
My oldest sister is my only link to Germany and my grandmother. She was saying how she was a stubborn woman. So I'm thinking it runs in the genes honestly. XD
Other interesting facts I learned:
My grandmother had a heart condition-- defect really-- where only half her heart worked. Mom overheard a doctor telling my grandmother that she wouldn't live to fourty, and Mom as an eight year old was terrified of losing her mother. (My grandmother lived a long life though. Up until eighty or so.)
My grandmother used to tell mom about the Jewish custom at the time of her residence with the family that raised her of leaving dead bodies in the house for three days. She used to be terrified because she was the one who would share a room with the dead bodies.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that parents are their own people with their own stories. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. I understand my mom better. She worked to supposrt her family, she moved a lot, she walked long distances in the snow to get an education to learn German because her mother never learned how to read German. So now that she's well to do, her children are grown, she's free to act like the child she never was.