My Mother's Secret: A Novel Based on a True Holocaust Story

by J.L. Witterick

Overview

Inspired by a true story, My Mother’s Secret is a captivating and ultimately uplifting tale intertwining the lives of two Jewish families in hiding from the Nazis, a fleeing German soldier, and the mother and daughter who team up to save them all.
 
Franciszka and her daughter, Helena, are simple, ordinary people…until 1939, when the Nazis invade their homeland. Providing shelter to Jews in Nazi-occupied Poland is a death sentence, but Franciszka and Helena do exactly that. In their tiny home in Sokal, they hide a Jewish family in a loft above their pigsty, a Jewish doctor with his wife and son in a makeshift cellar under the kitchen, and a defecting German soldier in the attic—each party completely unknown to the others. For everyone to survive, Franciszka will have to outsmart her neighbors and the German commander.
 
Told simply and succinctly from four different perspectives—all under one roof—My Mother’s Secret is a testament to the kindness, courage, and generosity of ordinary people who chose to be extraordinary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698151529
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/05/2013
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,019
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

MY MOTHER’S SECRET, which is based on a true story, is J. L. Witterick’s debut novel.   It is a bestseller in Canada and has been published in a number of countries around the world.

Read an Excerpt

This book is fictional, but it was inspired by the true story of Franciszka Halamajowa, who with her daughter saved the lives of fifteen Jews in Poland during the Second World War. She also hid a young German soldier in her attic at the same time. Her son died while transporting a wagon full of supplies to partisan Jews hiding in the forest. Before the war, there were six thousand Jews in Sokal, Poland. Only thirty survived the war and half of those because of one Polish woman, Franciszka.  I believe that all of us, like Franciszka, have within us the potential to be great. Sometimes we coast through life without this potential surfacing because life has been easy on us.  When we have much to lose, but still choose to do the right thing, we uncover the nobility that is within all of us. To endure what is unbearable and to do it with grace, that is how we know that we have arrived.  Trip to Israel In 2012, I visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, where there is a tree planted and a plaque to honor Franciszka Halamajowa and her daughter, Helena.  People who were not Jewish, but who nevertheless risked their lives to help the Jews escape execution during the Holocaust, are recognized as “the Righteous among the Nations” in Israel. This is how Franciszka and her daughter are remembered.  It was my son, Matthew, who actually found the tree, as bushes had grown in front of the plaque, preventing me from seeing it initially.  Upon seeing their names there in print before me, I was overcome with emotion.  I had written about this woman and her daughter and had imagined their lives, but here was evidence that they indeed did exist. I didn’t realize how deeply I would feel until this moment.  Planting a tree to remember them by feels so right. 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A moving and captivating portrait.”
—Amir R. Gissin, Consulate General of Israel

“A reflection of our own era, a reminder of how far wrong we can be led…an important book.”—Joseph Kertes, author of Gratitude, winner of the Canadian Jewish Book Award

“The woman at the heart of this novel will haunt you after you read about her fearless compassion, her defiance of the odds of survival.”—Anna Porter, award-winning author of Kasztner’s Train

Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION

Based on a true story, My Mother's Secret is a profound, captivating, and ultimately uplifting tale intertwining the lives of two Jewish families in hiding from the Nazis, a fleeing German soldier, and the clever and "righteous" mother and daughter who teamed up to save them.

Franciszka and her daughter, Helena, are unlikely heroines. They are simple people who mind their own business and don't stand out from the crowd. Until 1939, when crisis strikes. The Nazis have invaded Poland and they are starting to persecute the Jews. Providing shelter to a Jew has become a death sentence. And yet, Franciszka and Helena decide to do just that. In their tiny, two-bedroom home in Sokal, Poland, they cleverly hide one Jewish family of two brothers and their wives in their pigsty out back, another in a makeshift cellar under the kitchen floorboards, and a defecting German soldier in the attic—each group completely unbeknownst to the others. For everyone to survive, Franciszka will have to outsmart her neighbors and the German commanders standing guard right outside her yard.

Told simply and succinctly from four different perspectives, My Mother's Secret is a reminder that you don't have to be extraordinary to make a difference. You can become extraordinary by making a difference.

This book was inspired by the true story of Franciszka Halamajowa, who, with her daughter, saved the lives of fifteen Jews in Poland during the Second World War. She also hid a young German soldier in her attic at the same time. Before the war, there were six thousand Jews in Sokal, Poland. Only thirty survived the war and half of those did so because of Franciszka.

ABOUT J.L. WITTERICK

Originally from Taiwan, J.L. Witterick has been living in Canada since her family's arrival in 1968. She attended the University of Western Ontario, graduating from the Richard Ivey School of Business. My Mother's Secret is her debut novel. It is a bestseller in Canada and has been published in several countries around the world. Witterick lives in Toronto with her husband and son.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

At the beginning of My Mother's Secret, there is a quote from Elie Wiesel: "To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all." What do you think is the importance of this quote to the novel as a whole?

Does Helena's point of view, as Franciszka's daughter, provide different insights into Franciszka's character and motivations than the other points of view in the book?

We see many of the characters in My Mother's Secret display acts of courage and instill hope in others. What part does hope play in the characters' lives, in their actions, especially as a means of survival?

A nosy neighbor asks Franciszka why she is getting extra water from the well. Franciszka tells Helena, "We're in the middle of a war and someone has the time to wonder about why I am using so much water!" What do you think is the larger message behind Franciszka's retort? How does it reflect her moral compass?

Damian's death is heartbreaking for both Franciszka and Helena, and Helena asks, "Do we really heal stronger where we are broken?" In other words, can we fully heal from drastic hardship? Helena does not think it is possible. What do you think?

In many ways, Bronek has to grow up fast, with the death of his father and then starting his own family. What are examples of Bronek's heightened responsibilities, especially his role as protector?

In Chapter 20, Bronek says he is not a "peacemaker," like Dawid, and he punches Resnit in the nose. The theme of violence versus peace is ubiquitous throughout My Mother's Secret. Do you think Bronek equates acts of violence for a cause with his role as protector? How does his definition of his role relate to Franciszka's definition of what a protector should be?

Franciszka has to act in clever ways to ensure that the people she is hiding are not found. How do you think Franciszka balanced living in constant fear of discovery with keeping up her savvy façade, especially when hiding Vilheim?

Mikolaj asks his mother, "Why do people hate us so much, Mama?" What is your take on how this question highlights the vast inequities at the heart of World War II? Is it a question that needs asking today?

Vilheim's mother tells him before he is drafted to "Avoid as much as you can. Do not be brave. This is not a war of necessity or principle." Later, Vilheim reflects, "I always thought that courageous people were those who were not afraid. Meeting Franciszka and her daughter, I realize that courageous people are afraid like everyone else. They just act despite the fear." Can it be said that the difference between courageous people and people who cower at the thought of stepping up for what they believe is simply a matter of action versus inaction?

Who is your favorite character, or what is your favorite point of view, in My Mother's Secret? Why?

My Mother's Secret was inspired by a true story of the Holocaust and, incredibly, a story with a happy ending as well. Does the fact that the book was based on real events alter your opinion of it?

Editorial Reviews

A moving and captivating portrait.”
—Amir R. Gissin, Consulate General of Israel

“A reflection of our own era, a reminder of how far wrong we can be led…an important book.”—Joseph Kertes, author of Gratitude, winner of the Canadian Jewish Book Award

“The woman at the heart of this novel will haunt you after you read about her fearless compassion, her defiance of the odds of survival.”—Anna Porter, award-winning author of Kasztner’s Train

From the Publisher

2013-09-15
A debut novel of Jews and Germans, families and soldiers hidden from the Nazis. Based upon the true story of Franciszka Halamajowa, Witterick's novel is told by four narrators, beginning with Franciszka's daughter, Helena. Raised in Germany with her older brother, Damian, Helena recalls her mother's hard work and generosity. A strict, selfish man, their father sympathizes with the Nazi movement. In contrast, Franciszka judges people by their behavior, and her return to Poland effectively ends their marriage. In Sokol, Damian begins working at an oil refinery, enabling him to support the family and to become a skilled machinist. Helena lands a secretarial job at a garment factory, where she falls in love with the general manager, Casmir Kowalski, a good man. Like Franciszka--who entertains German commanders while harboring Jews--Casmir understands the importance of appearing to befriend officials on different sides of the conflict. Yet Helena is afraid to embroil Casmir in her mother's secrets, so she cannot follow him to Germany when the Nazis invade. The perspective then shifts to those Franciszka sheltered. She rescues Bronek, his wife and child, as well as his brother and sister-in-law, from certain death in a Jewish ghetto, offering them asylum in her pigsty. She rescues Dr. Mikolaj Wolenski and his family, providing them safe haven under the floorboards of her kitchen. She also rescues Vilhelm, a German soldier, giving him refuge in the cramped attic. Franciszka's thoughts remain a secret, revealed only through her own behavior. The Halamajowa family's courage is inspiring. Yet, instead of illuminating the transcendence of their work, the simplicity of Witterick's prose dulls the story. Instead of universalizing the tale, the underdeveloped characters and thin descriptions flatten the effect. Frustratingly sparse.

Kirkus Reviews