The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours : A Memoir of the Second World War

Lilka Trzcinska was fourteen years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The daughter of an architect, Lilka was a high school student at the time. When schools were closed by the occupier, she, along with her siblings, continued their education in secret classes, and joined the Polish Home Army– the secret resistance force. Lilka and her family were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and sent to the political prison Pawiak, then to Auschwitz. There, Lilka's mother died and her younger sister was sent off to another camp. The rest of the family was put to work in the camp building offices. After being transported to a number of other camps (in one instance by a way of a three-day march), the three sisters were reunited in 1945, and shortly thereafter liberated by the British. Lilka later went to Italy to continue her education, moving to Canada in 1948. The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours is the memoir of a survivor. Lilka Trzcinska-Croydon narrates her adolescence and that of her sisters and brother in a way that binds poetry and history together seamlessly. It describes the strength of the family ties and solidarity that help them emerge from their horrific ordeal with their dignity intact. As many as 150,000 Polish political prisoners were taken during the war, half of whom died in the camps. This memoir is a testament to their struggle. CONTENTS 8 FOREWORD 10 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 12 GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION 14 CAMP VOCABULARY 15 INTRODUCTION 16 Part I: Fighting Poland (September 1939–May 1943) 20 1 Dies Irae 22 2 Gone with the Wind 39 3 Resistance 44 4 Rescue 58 Part II: Auschwitz (May 1943–January 1945) 90 5 Nos. 44786–9 92 6 No Lilies for Mother 104 7 Gifts and Secrets 108 8 A Legacy of Herbs 114 9 High Fever 121 10 Designing a Dream House 129 11 SOS 139 Part III: From Winter to Spring (January–April 1945) 148 12 Walking to Breslau 150 13 Bergen-Belsen 160 Part IV: The Taste of Freedom (April 1945–June 1946) 166 14 My Egg of Resurrection 168 15 Concert for Survivors 174 16 Capriccio Italiano 181 EPILOGUE 190 ILLUSTRATION CREDITS 194 Illustrations 66 MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict CONTENTS 8 FOREWORD 10 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 12 GUIDE TO PRONUNCIATION 14 CAMP VOCABULARY 15 INTRODUCTION 16 Part I: Fighting Poland (September 1939–May 1943) 20 1 Dies Irae 22 2 Gone with the Wind 39 3 Resistance 44 4 Rescue 58 Part II: Auschwitz (May 1943–January 1945) 90 5 Nos. 44786–9 92 6 No Lilies for Mother 104 7 Gifts and Secrets 108 8 A Legacy of Herbs 114 9 High Fever 121 10 Designing a Dream House 129 11 SOS 139 Part III: From Winter to Spring (January–April 1945) 148 12 Walking to Breslau 150 13 Bergen-Belsen 160 Part IV: The Taste of Freedom (April 1945–June 1946) 166 14 My Egg of Resurrection 168 15 Concert for Survivors 174 16 Capriccio Italiano 181 EPILOGUE 190 ILLUSTRATION CREDITS 194 Illustrations 66 Lilka Trzcinska was fourteen years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The daughter of an architect, Lilka was a high school student at the time. When schools were closed by the occupier, she, along with her siblings, continued their education in secret classes, and joined the Polish Home Army (the secret resistance force). Lilka and her family were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and sent to the political prison Pawiak, then to Auschwitz. There, Lilka's mother died and her younger sister was sent off to another camp. The rest of the family was put to work in the camp building offices. After being transported to a number of different camps, the three sisters were reunited in 1945, and shortly thereafter liberated by the British. Lilka later went to Italy to continue her education, moving to Canada in 1948. The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours is the memoir of a survivor. Lilka Trzcinska-Croydon narrates her adolescence and that of her sisters and brother in a way that binds poetry and history together seamlessly. It describes the strength of the family ties and solidarity that helped them emerge from their horrific ordeal with their dignity intact. As many as 150,000 Polish political prisoners were taken during the war, half of whom died in the camps. This memoir is a testament to their struggle. "Lilka Trzcinska was fourteen years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The daughter of an architect, Lilka was a high school student at the time. When schools were closed by the occupier, she, along with her siblings, continued their education in secret classes and joined the Polish Home Army - the secret resistance force." "Lilka and her family were arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and sent to the political prison Pawiak, then to Auschwitz. There, Lilka's mother died, and her younger sister was sent off to another camp. The rest of the family was put to work in the camp building offices. After being transported to a number of other camps (in one instance by way of a three-day march), the three sisters were reunited in 1945, and shortly thereafter liberated by the British. Lilka later went to Italy to coninue her education, moving to Canada in 1948." "The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours is the memoir of a survivor. Lilka Trzcinska-Croydon narrates her adolescence and that of her sisters and brother in a way than binds poetry and history together seamlessly. It describes the strength of the family ties and solidarity that helped them emerge from their horrific ordeal with their dignity intact."--BOOK JACKET Lilka Trzcinska was fourteen years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The daughter of an architect, Lilka was a high school student at the time. When schools were closed by the occupier, she, along with her siblings, continued their education in secret classes, and joined the Polish Home Army– the secret resistance force. __The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours__ is the memoir of a survivor. Lilka Trzcinska-Croydon narrates her adolescence and that of her sisters and brother in a way that binds poetry and history together seamlessly. It describes the strength of the family ties and solidarity that help them emerge from their horrific ordeal with their dignity intact. The memoir of a survivor, "The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours" binds history and poetry together to provide a moving account of family, survival, and a young woman's adolescence in the Polish resistance and Nazi prison camps during the Second World War We were transported, at dawn, from the Gestapo headquarters to the prison in a crowded truck. xviii, 152 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : 24 cm