Medical School and Marriage

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In the summer of 1944, Bronia and her family heard that Kiev was liberated. They left Armenia and traveled to Kiev. In Kiev, Bronia continued her studies in the medical school there and Bella went to university. They both lived in the dorms where there was not much food and no plumbing. In March 1945, they were allowed to go back to Poland. Bronia and her family left Kiev and went back to Sarny where there was nothing left. Their home was occupied and there were no Jews left. Bronia went to the mass grave and left stones on top as a memorial. In May, Bronia, her mother, aunt and sister left Sarny and went to Lublin. They were housed at Dom Peretz, a former school turned into a homeless shelter for Jewish survivors. There, Bronia met Sam Bronkesh who was recuperating from shrapnel wounds He was from Ryki,Poland and survived by hiding in the woods with his three brothers fighting as Partisans. After three months, they were married. Bronia made Sam promise to take care of her sister and mother. As they were Polish citizens, they were not allowed to leave the country. The Hagana helped them leave by obtaining false papers for them claiming they were returning to Greece. They traveled to Czechoslovakia, where they were kept in a safe house in Bratislava for 10 days. In order for them to keep moving, they had to cross the Alps on foot. From there, they were taken to Vienna where they stayed in a Jewish hospital. They had to wait there for a month for an American zone to open in Germany. When it opened, they were sent to a DP camp in Munich, Neu Friemann. While they were there, Bronia got pregnant and in July 1946, had her first daughter Annette.