“I have told this story to Colette for many reasons. I want people to understand what happened during World War II, to know what was done to us Jews for no reason at all, other than that we happened to be Jewish. I also want young people to learn from the things I did in my life that allowed me to survive. But my greatest hope in sharing this story is so that my parents and other family members did not die in vain. I truly believe that telling others about their murders and speaking out against genocide, racism, and hatred can and will make a difference.”
Nina Grutz’s family was successful in business in Poland. The community respected them. Nina’s life was one of wealth. “The Grutz family was part of a Jewish population that thrived at a time when almost three-quarter of the Jews in Europe called Poland home.” “It seems to me now that my life before the war was so very happy and full. My own little world was regulated and small, but this was how my parents raised me and it felt very secure. I had a good family life, I loved my sisters, and I even began to spend time with boys in a social way. We did not go out on dates like...