"[…] She spoke German because she did not speak Polish. Grandma knew a few Polish word […] However, it was rather Silesian dialect. We did not speak Polish at all. We had to learn this language. But my grandma had a book, the Bible. I regret that everything was destroyed".
"[…] We were always connected with Silesia. I am happy that I didn’t go to Germany. Because for me Germany […] I often go to Germany. I once felt sorrow, Poland was poor […] and Germany was rich. It was the 60s, I thought it was a mistake that I stayed here. But I am happy that I am where I am, among friends […] I do not like present Germany. I simply like order. Period".
"[…] I felt here at home. In Wrocław, because I quickly forgot Gliwice. I felt in Wrocław at home. I am happy that I live here and I always considered myself German. My husband was very kind and we lived peaceably. Our children were raised in the present, in Polish reality. I must say […] that I have never forced them to learn German. They […] wanted to learn. I instilled German order, German punctuality in my children. Punctuality is now here, but not in Germany. Whatever I learnt at home, I instilled in my children. My grandchildren always ask me. My children are now more than 50 years old and they suddenly remembered: „Tell me about the life at home in the past”. It was tough, wasn’t it? […]. We were happy that we received packages from Germany, they were pleased but not too interested. But they are curious now […] and ask".
photo: Piotr Wójcik, Niemieckie Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne we Wrocławiu, Ośrodek Pamięć i Przyszłość
photo: Piotr Wójcik, Niemieckie Towarzystwo Społeczno-Kulturalne we Wrocławiu, Ośrodek Pamięć i Przyszłość
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Renata (Renate) Zajączkowska, nee Sinko, was born on August 5, 1931 in German, Catholic family in Gliwice which was the part of Germany at that time. Wealthy Renata’s family lived in a villa, in the district of single-family houses. Her father worked in a local coking plant, mother was a housewife and took care of five children. Renata’s grandma, Rozalia Tümler was a very important person in her life. They spoke only German at home, although her grandma knew a few words in Silesian dialect. Her early childhood was very carefree and full of joy. When she was six, she started attending school on Ziemowit street. The Second World War disrupted her education. Renata’s brothers were called up into the army and older sister to Women’s Service in Thuringia. During the Second World War, the whole family fought for life of the youngest sister, Brygida who got really sick. Her father was deported to Russia in February 1945 and returned to Gliwice in December. After the end of the War, Renata attended Polish secondary school and passed the so-called fast secondary school-leaving exam in 1948. She met her future husband while she was working in old people’s home for repatriates in Wroclaw. They married in 1956 and Renata’s family left to Germany. She finished Administration and Economics Secondary School in Rybnik in 1950. They lived in Wrocław where their two daughters were born. After 1989, Renata involved in activity of German Socio-Cultural Association in Wrocław, of which she is a chairwoman. She can speak Polish and German fluently. She considers herself to be an inhabitant of Wrocław.
