Read The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister for Free Online Page A

also the cool breezes from the water.
    Mama and Papa were so much in love. They were both very happy in their new home. Papa worked as an interpreter at the port and also had time for his hobbies—photography and woodworking. He spoke six languages fluently and had a working knowledge of three more foreign languages, so his skills were always in demand whenever foreigners were around. The house was located on a street that was named after the Russian poet, Chekhov—it was called Chekhov Lane or Boulevard—because here is where Anton Chekhov was born and lived for many years.
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TAGANROG • This town, in the Rostov oblast, or province, is situated on the Sea of Azov, near the River Don. Nonna was born there in 1927; it is also the birthplace of Anton Chekhov, in 1860.
Yevgeny and Anna had traveled there from Santurinowka, also called Konstantinowka, having been annexed to the latter at some point in time. This explains why Nonna uses the two towns’ names, or a combination of them, interchangeably.
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    On November 3, 1925, Anatoly (my brother) was born, and Mama and Papa were very happy about getting their family started.
    Two years later, on September 22, 1927, I was born. Papa gave me the name Nonna, which originated from the Greek name Nonnatus and had been used in his family for a very long time.
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NONNA’S BIRTH • Papa named Nonna after St. Raymond Nonnatus— non natus, meaning “not born”—the patron saint of mothers and midwives. His mother had died giving birth by caesarean section.
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    They say that memories do not go beyond the age of two years or so, but that is not so. I remember so well the times that we lived in that house in Taganrog—the lacy curtains on the long windows in the bedroom where my cradle was placed. It was very close to the window. I remember Mama singing a lullaby to me while she rocked the cradle. Actually, it was a small bed that was fastened to rockers. I remember Anatoly’s small bedroom, full of toys and books. That bedroom had only one window, and outside that window there was a tree. I remember dropping my china doll and crying very hard as I looked at the broken pieces scattered on the floor.
    We were fortunate enough to have a nanja (nanny) to look after Anatoly and me. I can remember that she had long black hair and that she looked very tall to me. I really didn’t like her because she would try to coax me to eat Cream of Wheat, which I didn’t want. I would turn my head away as she was trying to force a spoonful into my mouth, and I would spit the Cream of Wheat out. This would make the nanny very mad, and she would try even harder to force me to eat.
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“CREAM OF WHEAT” • Developed in 1893 at a mill in North Dakota, Cream of Wheat might have been on young Nonna’s table. But it is also possible that in transcribing her diaries as an older woman and a naturalized American citizen, Nonna could have used an American brand name to describe a similar local product.
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    Mama had a Singer sewing machine that you would pedal when you sewed, and this machine held a fascination for me. I would sneak over to the machine every time I would get a chance and pedal the thing with my small hands.
    There was a birthday party for Anatoly, and the parlor (living room) was filled with children. They were laughing and running around the table where there was a big cake with three candles on it. Anatoly was fussing with a large toy that looked like a train. I also remember our rocking horse—it was covered with brown fur (or horsehide), and it stood just a few feet away from Mama’s grand piano. These memories are so vivid to me that it seems that these things happened only a short time ago.
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A COMFORTABLE LIFE • Nonna mentions her mother’s grand piano, Anatoly’s birthday party with cake and toys, and the hired nanny—as well as silver skates (later) and a music teacher. She wrote in her childhood diary: “I like my music teacher, Mlle. Jarowski. However,