The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister Read online

  Anna, my mother, met Yevgeny Lisowsky in St. Petersburg (Lenigrad) while at the university studying art and music. She was still very young at that time; Yevgeny was nine years older. He had already gotten his degree and was working on his master’s degree in languages and studying the history of Europe. Papa was originally from Warsaw, Poland, and came from a very wealthy family called Lisowsky (or Lisowitz). His grandfather owned at least seventeen estates all around Warsaw and southern Poland and in the Ukraine. His dad’s (my grandfather’s) name was Johan Lisowsky (as far as I was taught). There is a strong possibility that my father changed his name from Lisowitz or Lishkowic to Lisowsky to give it a Russian sound. This is speculation on my part, because my father called himself Yevgeny Ivanovich and it was common for all Russians to take on a second name from the first name of their father. For instance, my name is Nonna Yevgenyevna Lisowskaja (the ending aja means a female name and the ending y or i means a male name). Or like my mother’s name: Anna Yakovlevna Ljaschova, unlike my uncles’ and my grandfather’s name, which was Ljaschov (no a on the end).

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  SPECULATION • Nonna suspected her father came from a Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland. But Yevgeny never confirmed the fact with Nonna. She never met her father’s family.

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  Aunt Tonja was my mama’s youngest sister; she was petite and beautiful with almost-blond hair. Like my grandmother, she was a homemaker, and her life revolved around her home and her children. She married a chemical engineer whose name was Alexey Vassiliev. Unfortunately, she lost a few children through miscarriages and one little boy to a dysentery illness when he was only two years old. Her surviving children were both girls.

  Ljonya (died in childhood)

  Zina

  Luci

  Uncle Ljonya (Leonid or Leon) was in his late twenties the last time I saw him. He was a very gentle and shy young man with great intelligence and character. He remained a bachelor and was deeply involved with chemistry, physics, and science in general. He rarely stayed at the village home, and Grandmother was forever concerned about Leonid not having a family of his own or being settled down.

  And there was the youngest Ljaschov—Uncle Zhenya— who was Grandmother’s pride and joy. He not only inherited all the good looks from his father, Yakov, but Grandmother had a great dream of seeing a handsome Cossack in him—following in his father’s footsteps. It broke Grandmother’s heart when he decided to join the air force in Irkutsk, and when she saw him in that dark blue uniform (in spite of his incredibly handsome appearance), she shed many tears. It was not the uniform of a Cossack, and that was a dream that had not come to reality for Grandmother. However, her disappointment intensified even more when Zhenya decided to marry a girl from a family of a “common” background. Even in those troubled times, Grandmother could not “see” one of her children marry someone with a different background. But Zhenya’s love for that girl overpowered the love for his mother’s heritage and wishes.

  His wife’s name was Nadezhda (Nadja), and she was really quite beautiful and smart. With only a high school education, she made a good wife and later a caring mother for Uncle Zhenya’s baby—and maybe more children. I never saw them after that one visit they made (Zhenya, Nadja, and the baby) to the house in Konstantinowka (Santurinowka) in 1937 or 1938. They lived in a far place named Irkutsk, in Southern Siberia, where Uncle Zhenya served in the air force.

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  GRANDMOTHER’S PREJUDICE • Nonna never explained what Grandmother meant by “common” or from a “different background.” Feodosija became upset when her youngest son, Zhenya, married a “common” girl. Possibly, Nadja’s family had no wealth. This glimpse into Feodosija’s feelings suggests that she had objections to the spouse of another child of hers, Anna: there is suggestion that Yevgeny was from a Jewish background.

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  5: Educating Anna

  Feodosija knew that she had to find some way to educate her children. Anna was a talented one, and at the age of seven, she was already showing interest in painting, music, dancing, and being artistic in general. Yes, Anna (perhaps she was one of Yakov’s favorites) should be taught music. Yakov had great plans for her education even when she was a small girl. Feodosija had to find a place where they could all be taught proper manners and get an education.

  The friend who had helped them move offered to help place Anna in a conservatory in St. Petersburg, since he had some friends of influence there and he could arrange for her transportation. Feodosija agreed without hesitation since Anna had beauty and talent and she was aggressive enough to be away from her mother. Music and art had to be taught at an early age, and St. Petersburg was the place that most Europeans sent their offspring to study. It was a place of great opportunities in spite of all the turmoil surrounding it. There were also many young people that were participating in the revolutionary movement, but no one was really concentrating on politics there. Most people were too involved in more sophisticated ideas like art, music, ballet, etc. This would be a good place for Yakov’s daughter, Anna. The decision was made to send her there.

  Anna was doing beautifully in her studies and was also growing up to be a beautiful young lady—probably faster than her family realized. While at the conservatory, she met a student from Warsaw, Poland, who had an influential background. He was nine years older than Anna. His name was Yevgeny, and his family was one of the wealthiest in Warsaw. He had spent many years at St. Petersburg studying.

  They fell in love, and they traveled to Ukraine to meet Anna’s mother. If Anna could marry Yevgeny, her family would have a great opportunity to get out of Russia. After all, with the kind of influence that his family had, there could be all kinds of opportunities for them to get out. Transportation out of troubled Russia could still be bought with gold, jewels, and money.

  However, Anna was not old enough to get married, especially since the Orthodox Church was still very active, and no Orthodox priest would perform the ceremony. But even in this situation, a small donation of gold would get the job done.

  Arrangements were made for Anna’s wedding, and Feodosija signed a consent agreement. The small but beautiful wedding was attended by only family and close friends and was held in the Orthodox church near the villa at Konstantinowka, with the priest conducting the ceremony. He was paid a sizable sum in gold for the favor and the work that he did.

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  THE ORTHODOX CHURCH • A woman who married outside the Russian Orthodox Church was not considered a legal wife but rather a man’s mistress. The church also had strict rules about underage women getting married, and Anna was under the minimum age requirement. Her mother, Feodosija, gave her written consent in order for Anna to marry at such a young age, in the summer of 1923, and paid the priest a large amount of money.

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  Anna and Yevgeny became man and wife, but Yevgeny had to return to St. Petersburg, leaving Anna with her family for a while. He had some plans worked out that included his first attempt to move Anna and her family out of Russia and to Poland. His plans failed, and he soon returned without success and started to work on another plan. However, things were moving too fast, and the Bolsheviks were putting a strong hold on the exits out of Russia. After several attempts to get out of Russia and back to Poland and his family had failed, Yevgeny tried to find some kind of way to remain in Russia and to protect Anna and her family from the danger of being “found out.”

  For a while, Yevgeny was able to get some money and some gold from his family. This helped keep his hopes up. Also, during the Depression gold was the best source for survival. However, as time went on and the Communists took a strong hold on everything—they would put anyone in chains who didn’t cooperate or who would look unfavorably toward them—Yevgeny and Anna started to make a kind of life for themselves; and her mother, Feodosija, became more dependent on their help.

  6: Move to Taganrog

  After Papa had failed to find a way out of Russia, he and Mama de
cided that they would have to start a life of their own. In the winter of 1924, they moved to the city of Taganrog—a city that was located on the Azov Sea. Grandmother owned a house there that was vacant, so Mama and Papa moved into Grandmother’s house. All the furniture and furnishings had been left in the house, so the only things they had to move were their personal belongings.

  They traveled from Santurinowka to Taganrog by train, and what a beautiful train ride it was—the scenery in that part of the world is unique and so beautiful. Papa had wanted to move to Taganrog because this was a city of international trade with the ships from Europe and other parts of the world, coming in through the Azov Sea. This would give Papa exposure to the people from Europe and would possibly open an avenue to get out of Russia.

  The house they moved into was a beautiful two-story home with a view of the waters of the Azov from the second-floor windows. There was also a cool, soft breeze blowing at all times. The house had two wrought-iron balconies that would allow one to enjoy the view of the sea and 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, she is strict. She makes me stay at the piano (sometimes two hours) until I play Tales of Hoffmann perfectly. I’d rather skip this one and play #6 from the book, ‘Barcarolla.’”

  These, along with Anna’s freedom to pursue creative outlets, were luxuries under the Stalinist system.

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  Papa was busy with his work and hobbies, but he also had many people visiting him (quite a few foreigners). He would take them into the library, where there were shelves against two walls; the shelves were loaded with books all the way to the tall ceiling. Papa would sit and talk to these visitors in a quiet voice—no one knew what they were talking about.

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  PAPA’S VISITORS • Foreign visitors serve as another indication of the good position Yevgeny held. Nonna remembered one “friend” in particular and wrote this about him in her childhood diary: “Papa’s friend came today. I really like him. He tells funny stories in German and Polish. He makes me laugh by making ‘frog’ faces. I like to play chess with him. I always win. Maybe he lets me win? I think he does!”

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  In the corner of the library, there was a small room, latched at all times by a small hook. It was a small darkroom where Papa spent a lot of time developing negatives. The room had a small, red light that provided light for Papa to see. This room was “off limits” for my brother and me, but being curious, I opened the door one day while Papa was working. He became angry, and called for Mama to “come get this child.” I saw a negative, which was on glass. When I reached to touch it, I cut my finger and got some of the fluid into the cut. I started to cry because it hurt and also because I was bleeding. I never opened that door again.

  Mama was busy with her music and art, and she was quite active in the theater. Mama and Papa went out a lot at night, leaving Anatoly and me with the nanny. I have often wondered where they would go—to the theater perhaps. Times were hard and things continued to change as the world slipped into the Great Depression. However, my family was comfortable and so full of closeness and love, and I was at a young age where everything was so new and exciting to me. I knew that I was happy.

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  NONNA’S MEMORIES • Throughout the war years, tucked into the secret pocket of the black-and-white-striped ticking pillow, Nonna saved photographs of her mother, Anna. Some showed a newly married Anna performing on the local theater stage, dressed in elaborate costumes. The smile on Anna’s face revealed her love for acting, singing, dancing, and theater.

  Papa also “got into the act.” Some of Nonna’s treasured photographs showed Papa clowning in funny wigs and silly costumes and brought out a joyful, playful side of Papa. Despite Russia’s turmoil, Anna, Nonna, Papa, and Anatoly were able to deeply enjoy life and each other in those early years together.

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  7: Move to Rostov-on-Don

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  Editors’ Note: Amid governmental turmoil, neighbors disappearing for no known reason, and the pain and suffering of friends and family, Nonna’s world began to change drastically over the next few years.

  Three years before her birth, on
January 21, 1924, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin died. Joseph Stalin, the “Man of Steel,” succeeded Lenin as leader of Russia, eventually expelling rival Leon Trotsky from Russia. Stalin began a brutal and murderous regime, ruling Russia with an iron fist by eliminating and executing his enemies, enforcing harsh new laws, and bringing cruel hardships on his people.

  By contrast, Nonna’s family seems to have been spared much of their fellow countrymen’s suffering—including persecution of former Ukrainian elites, such as Nonna’s grandfather, a Cossack guard, had been.

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  It must have been in early fall of 1929 when Papa accepted a job as an interpreter with the largest and newest machinery factory in the city of Rostov-on-Don. We were moving into a very large apartment near the factory, and the factory was furnishing the apartment at no cost to us. I suppose that it was a part of his compensation package. The apartment was located near the housing that was provided for foreign visitors and was very close to the large park called Rostov’s Theatrical Park. That is the place in Rostov that has stayed in my memories so vividly throughout my lifetime—it was a park in which Mama and I spent a lot of time together. I remember so well when we moved from Taganrog to Rostov-on-Don—I guess that I was two or two and a half years old. We rode the train from Taganrog to Rostov-on-Don, and after getting off the train, we rode on a streetcar to the place in which we would live for the next few years.