My Childhood 1926-1939

I was there.

Janina Bauman was born in Warsaw, 18th of August 1926. Her assimilated, non-religious family was a part of Warsaw intelligentsia. Her father Szymon Lewinson was an urologist, like many of the members of the family.

Shortly before the war outbreak Janina and her family went to the summerhouse in Konstancin. In September they came back to Warsaw. 

Janina Bauman (1926-2009), Poland

Janina Bauman (1926-2009), Poland

Consider here the life of Janina before the war

Childhood in Prewar Warsaw

Janina was born in Warsaw in assimilated Jewish family. She spends a lot of time in the summer house in the suburbs of Warsaw, in Konstancin.

1) Listen to Janina, as she describes her family. Answer the questions.

  • 1a. What language was spoken at Janina’s home?

  • 1b. Use 5 adjectives to describe Janina’s family.

  • 1c. Why it was so difficult for Janina to understand what it meant to be Jewish?

  • 1d. Why Janina’s father objected to his brother’s idea to become Christian?

  • 1e. Why Janina’s brother wanted to become Christian?

  • 1f. When Janina went to school before the war, she was the only Jewish girl in Gimanzjum Tańskiej Hoffmanowej. Try to find out why, using the Internet and the source materials.

  • 1g. Why some of Janina’s colleagues would be unpleasant to Janina, why some of them would keep the distance towards her?

  • 1h. Why Janina’s father was enlisted to the Polish army already before the war?


A presentation about Warsaw.