Mendek’s Sister, Bronia

“When I began my research and needed to learn about my father’s early life, my aunt Bronia became my guide. As the only two people in their immediate family to survive the war, their histories are uniquely intertwined.

Bronia was the only living person who could tell me about the grandparents I’d never known, and the aunts, uncles and cousins I would never meet. Thanks to her, I was able to piece together much more of my father’s story than he’d ever shared with me or anyone else.

Without Bronia, my family’s history would have been erased forever.“

— Myra Goodman

▶️ Terrors of the Nazi occupation

Mendek's sister, Bronia Brandman, shares her memories of the traumatic night the Nazis threatened her father in his hardware store in Jaworzno, Poland.

▶️ The roundup

Mendek's sister, Bronia, shares her memory of being captured and then escaping from Nazi guards in Jaworzno, Poland.

▶️ Mendek becomes a Nazi slave labor prisoner

Mendek's sister, Bronia, shares her memories of her brother, "the superhero."

▶️ Mendek’s dyslexia and relationship with his father

With the perspective of years, Mendek's sister, Bronia, reflects on how Mendek's dyslexia affected his relationship with his father.

▶️ Bronia trusts individuals, but not humanity

Mendek's sister, Bronia, shares the impact of living through the Holocaust.

A note on Bozenka—the woman who saved Bronia’s life

Whenever I share my dad’s story, people often ask me what happened to Bozenka, the woman who saved Bronia’s life many times when she was in Auschwitz and during the Death March. Bozenka was a brave and selfless hero who risked her life repeatedly to save my aunt, and many people are eager to know if she and Bronia ever saw each other again.

I’m pleased to tell you that Bronia and Bozenka remained friends. During the many years Russia occupied Slovakia, all mail contact was forbidden, so they did lose track of each other for a long time. But when that censorship was lifted, they were finally able to correspond.

Bozenka and her brother came to the United States in the 1970s and settled in Baltimore, where Bozenka worked as a scrub nurse. She told Bronia she’d never married because there were very few Jews in Slovakia, and by the time she came here she thought she was too old.

Bozenka and her brother later moved to a retirement village in Florida, and over the years, Bronia and Bozenka were able to visit each other a number of times. Their last visit was in the summer of 2016, just before Bozenka died at 96, and Bronia told me it was particularly sweet. “Bozenka called me Bronitshka, a name of endearment. She always expressed her love for me, and told me that she thought of me as her little girl. Bozenka risked her life to rescue many others, not just me. At a time when most people were inhuman, Bozenka was a saint. A mother couldn’t have done more for me than Bozenka.”

— Myra Goodman