Survivors and Their Families Flashcards
Hana Dubova
BACKGROUND:
Hana was 13 years old living in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1938 with a comfortable childhood; fluent in Czech, German, and French. Active youth Zionist, dreaming of building kibbutzim.
WWII (1939-1942):
- Nazi occupation disrupts life and Hana leaves Prague for Denmark, forced to leave mother, father, and brother who are unfortunately murdered.
- Hana and chaverim go to foster farms and continues education before facing deportation, but rescuers help save 95%
-Escapes to Sweden in 1943 on one of the last boats. The guide got lost forcing the passengers to hide for 19 hours at sea under herring before finally reaching Sweden. Hana writes to schools in Sweden and gets into nursing school.
POST WAR (1945-1950)
- Hana returns to Czechoslovakia to find few surviving relatives. She applied for a Danish citizenship and returns to Sweden but soon gets permission to immigrate to the U.S. in 1950.
- Arrives in Cincinnati, Ohio and is shocked by the racism and culture struggles, facing discrimination for being friendly to black individuals.
- Marries a man named Ralph and raises 3 children, becoming an official citizen in 1956, divorces in 1970, and remarries in 1980, enjoying her life as a grandmother.
Hana’s granddaughter, Rachael Cerrotti, talked to her grandmother about her story a year before Hana died in 2010, Rachael continued her research, writing the memoir “We Share the Same Sky.”
