Art of Being…

Here are some fun facts about yours truly. I hope you enjoy learning some bits and pieces about your Polish friend.

Hanna (May 1942)

Name: Hanna

Birth date: August 24th, 1927

Name Day: January 28^th

Parents: Karol and Irena

Siblings: Marta

Friends: Celia and Franek... and Lubic (though I don’t really like him)

Boyfriend: Well, I don’t have one yet, but there is a certain boy who has caught my eye

Pets: None, though someday I would like to have a Pomeranian named “Burek.” 

Hobbies: acting in plays, watching movies, listening to swing music, daydreaming, writing in my diary

Judy Garland (1939)

Dreams: I plan to become a stage actress here in Poland and then after a couple of years, I will go to Hollywood. Maybe I will get the chance to act with Judy Garland.

Religion: Roman Catholic

Favorite Book: “Anne of Green Gables,” by L. M. Montgomery; in fact I adore the whole series.

Favorite Authors: L. M. Montgomery (of course!), Adam Mickiewicz, Henryk Sienkiewicz

Favorite Movie: “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.” Although I know by articles and photographs, that if “The Wizard of Oz” had premiered in Poland like it was supposed to, it would be my favorite. Unfortunately the German invasion prevented that.

Favorite Song: Too many choose from, but here are my top three favorites; “Over the Rainbow,” “Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen,” “Por Una Cabeza.”

Secrets: I have never been kissed. What an embarrassment; to be fifteen years old and no different from a new born baby!

I once saw the Germans lead a group of men, women and children out of town. Later when my friends and I went mushroom hunting, we saw the Germans shooting them and their bodies drop into a pit. I went home sobbing, but never told anyone what I had seen. That group- they may have been Jews, though the Germans have been known to do that to Poles and gypsies too.

The second this war is over, I am leaving Poland and not looking back. As much as I love my country, I won’t return. I want to be free. Throughout Poland’s history, it has been under the thumb of one country or another. I don’t want to live in an occupied country forever.

When I was a little girl, I caught typhus and almost died. To reward me for being such a good patient, my parents let me go to the cinema or the theater every Saturday. That is when my love affair with acting began.

My mother won’t let me wear make-up or get my ears pierced. My friend Celia has plenty of powder, rouge and lipstick and lets me sample some of hers at sleepovers.

More to come!