Naomi Goldrei
Title: The Champions of my Childhood
Author: Naomi Goldrei
Publisher: Makor Jewish Community Library
Place of publication: Melbourne
Year of Publication: 2003
Location of Book: Rare Books Collection, Sir Louis Matheson Library, Monash University Clayton Campus
Cities/town/camps: Poland: Sosnowiec, Konarzewo, Koronowo, Bialystock, Niemcza
Note: those cities/towns/camps underlined are those which are most central to the narrative
The Champions of My Childhood tells the story of those who helped a young child, Naomi Goldrei, survive the war years. Pages 5-24 portray Naomi’s earliest memories of Sosnoweic, while pages 25-79 tell of her escape and new life in Konarzewo. Pages 80-94 depict her time in Koronowo, while pages 95-137 describe the uncomfortable relationship with her father in Bialystok. The remainder of the book, pages 138-169, deals with the time Naomi spent with her mother, including her first involvement with a Jewish community in Niemcza. The book was published in 2003 as part of Makor Library’s “Write Your Story” Collection.
Naomi Goldrei was born on Hitler’s birthday in 1939, in the town of Sosnoweic in Poland. Months later her father left to join the army. In the early Autumn of 1943, three year old Naomi and her grandmother were evicted from their home and incarcerated in a nearby ghetto. Within hours, one of ‘the champions of her childhood’ appeared – her beloved Niania, her mother’s old nanny – who claimed the child as her own and spirited her away to a farm belonging to an acquaintance of Naomi’s uncle. Naomi quickly and enthusiastically adjusted to life on the farm in Konarzewo. Naomi’s host, Marysia, taught her Christian prayers and rituals so that she would not stand out from the people around her. She was also given a new name and told never to reveal her real name to anyone. Naomi vividly recalls preparations in the household for Christmas. Pigs were slaughtered and smoked and made into sausages while their Christmas tree was elaborately decorated. Amidst the excitement of Christmas Naomi almost revealed her true identity. When a Pole in full costume knocked on their door, Naomi assumed that ‘Santa Claus’ was one of the people that you didn’t need to lie to, introducing herself as Zusia Goldman. Fortunately, ‘Santa’ was hard of hearing and the situation was quickly rescued by Marysia.
In Konarzewo Naomi had remained relatively sheltered from the war. She describes in detail the cycle of the seasons on the farm – the changing landscape, the sowing and harvesting of crops and the birth of new animals in spring. On a trip to Sosnowiec to visit Niania, however, Naomi overheard that her grandmother had been killed. Noami’s peaceful existence was truly shattered when she was fired upon by a warplane while walking alone in a meadow. Later, German police came to their house looking for a fugitive. Naomi was not discovered, but fearing what might happen in the future, Naomi was relocated to Marysia’s aunt in Koronowo.
After the town was liberated, Naomi’s father returned to reclaim her. Having never known her father, it took some convincing to persuade Naomi to join her father in Bialystok, where he lived in his army barracks. Naomi did not receive much fathering and was looked after by one of the orderlies. Her appearance and hygiene were so bad the the principal of her school told her father, “a man just cannot take care of a six year old child.”
Eventually, Naomi’s mother returned home after incarceration in a concentration camp. Naomi, however, could not recognise her own mother and accused her father of lying to her. Late, Naomi and her mother moved out, finally settling in Niemcza, Naomi’s first involvement with a Jewish community.
Written from the point of view of a an adult looking back, Goldrei successfully evokes the atmosphere and language of childhood. The reader is drawn into a chaotic world where the innocence and naivety of a child too young to understand are soon shattered.