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Journey of a Holocaust Survivor

An Action News Special Report

By Lisa Thomas Laury

April 13, 2007 - Her story is inspirational and remarkable. It is the story of how a young Jewish girl from Poland turned the most tragic circumstances into profound personal growth.

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"There is a wonderful Jewish word called Hutzpah," explained Nina Kaleska, as she talked about her journey from the depths of evil.
"Why I am here? I don't know. I really can't tell you. It must be providence or something I needed to do to show that I have survived Hitler, because I could have become bitter and angry and I am exactly the opposite," she said.
She was only 13 when the Germans invaded Poland in 1941. She and her family were hauled off to a Nazi death camp, and then Auschwitz, where her mother, father, and sister were killed.
It was during this time that Nina had an unusual encounter with a soldier who was guarding her and the other inmates. He was a young man from Luxemburg, drafted into the German army.
"I was 16 and I was so naive," she said. "He was adorable and he was 19."
His name was Lucien, and Nina was shocked when he befriended her and became concerned about her safety.
"He fell in love with me, and he says, 'look they are going to kill you and I would like to help you escape,'" she explained.
But the young soldier and the Jewish prisoner had to keep their plans and relationship a secret from the other guards and inmates.
Lucien told Nina when the war was over he would take her to Luxemburg to meet his family, but Lucien was unable to keep his promise
"He said, 'we have to ship out tonight, but I spent all night writing you a letter,'" she explained. "He gives me that letter and it is a beautiful poem, beautifully written and a photograph of him as a civilian. And he kissed me."
Nina and the other prisoners were eventually evacuated. A guard later told her Lucien had been killed on the Russian front.
"My heart sank. I never thought I would grieve for a man in a German uniform," she said. "All of these years I never forgot him because he represented a moment of beauty and truth and hope amidst hell and death and darkness."
Nina regained her freedom in May of 1945, and arrived in the United States in 1950 at age 21. She married, raised 2 sons, and then, with no more than the equivalent of a 7th grade education, she earned a Sociology degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and then her masters at Temple University. She also sang professionally.
At age 78, she still lives her life with passion and enthusiasm.
Kaleska has taught voice lessons to students at The University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College.
She has also spoken about her life around the country in an effort to foster better relations between Christians and Jews.

(Copyright 2007. Action News and 6abc. All rights reserved)

Action News Team

Lisa Thomas Laury

RELATED:  Lisa's BIO

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