Falling In Love
some core of humanity persisted.
Writing this book was such an appren- The love that grew between them was
ticeship about life's true extremes."
a major factor in the couple's survival.
The result of his efforts is a multi-
"I can't say I realized it the very
layered, richly textured page-turner
minute I saw her," Mirek recalls. "All
that has earned praise from such writ-
the girls' heads were shaved. Their
ers as William Styron and Elie Wiesel.
own mothers wouldn't have recognized
The story is told through first-per-
them." -
son recollections in chapters that alter-
But through her ingenuity Blanka
nate Blanka's point of view with
managed to get some fabric from the
Mirek's. In many ways, this is
more Blanka's story than her hus-
band's, because she was able to
remember more details about
their hidden encounters. Yet
Mirek's recollections are more
packed with action.
The narrative juxtaposes
pathos with humor, adventure
with romance, brutality with
kindness, Jewish history and tra-
dition with the stark realities of
20th-century Europe and World
War II — all interlaced with
Blanka's determination never to
give up hope.
Author Petrie Popescu is no stranger to
The events it records seem so
danger, cruelty and discrimination.
fantastic that it's hard to keep in
mind that the book isn't fiction.
"It feels like a novel because
their story is so incredibly unusual,"
room where supplies were stored and
Popescu said. "They fell in love with
make a bonnet to cover her head.
so much danger and jeopardy all
"That bonnet allowed her face to be
around them and so little chance of
seen, without the reminder of what
survival."
had happened to her, where she had
But they did survive, largely through been and where we were now," Mirek
living by their wits. Mirek, who had
said. "I looked at her and saw her —
run away from home at age 13 to
without the war and the camp — just
escape his father's ambition for him to
her. Human. That face impressed itself
be a tailor, had been trained as an elec- on me so deeply, I knew then that she
trician and was useful to the Nazis.
would be very special to me."
One of his jobs was to defuse
Within the confines of their situa-
American bombs, and Blanka recalls
tion, the couple carried on a courtship
that, because he knew he was not like-
of sorts, but instead of passionate
ly to be disposed of, he walked around embraces, they touched one another's
with a confidence that other prisoners
hands furtively; instead of flowers and
found "downright cocky."
candy, Mirek brought Blanka scraps of
She volunteered for extra work,
food and news reports he had heard
against the advice of all the other
on the radio.
inmates. Once she and Mirek grew
"The fact that they fell in love
close, he put himself at risk by helping
helped them enormously," Popescu
her get better assignments, such as
said. "She might have allowed herself
working in the kitchen instead of
not to eat, to get dysentery. Without
cleaning toilets.
him she could have been a casualty.
"It was great when I got the job in
"He was less at risk because he had
the kitchen, because I could steal food
scams going and he was protected. He
far more easily," she told Popescu dur-
did not belong to the most damned of
ing one of their conversations.
the damned, but she was headed for
"I was baffled," he said. "You don't
the pile."
expect a woman who is a totally civi-
Two months before Blanka and the
lized and respectable person to say the
other inmates were liberated, Mirek
word 'steal,' no matter what the con-
escaped from the camp along with two
text, with such ease. But then you
American pilots who had been shot
look at the face of this person, and
down over Bavaria. A German farmer
she's not blushing and she doesn't feel
hid them.
she needs_to explain the circum-
stances. This is just what it was."
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