family story: grandma's prayer survival

Stories have been said throughout the centuries. There are ones made up to explain why something is so (though many times they are not the actual cause or reason), told in court to explain what really happen and who is truly responsible for the cause, for entertainment/pleasure such as comedy , and to tell about our past and history. Your past does not only include your life but also the life of your ancestors. Stories and events of your family are very important things to listen and pay attention to. No matter how shameful or embarrassing it may turn out to be, it is crucial for us to know about our past. It makes it easier for us to be thankful and honorable for what we have and had. Knowing our history can be very useful too when it comes to making decisions.

The family story that I am about to tell is about how my grandma (my dad’s mom) managed to survive a scary and horrifying situation during world war two. Though it was a horrible seen indeed that would not be bad if forgotten, it was a time of my grandmother’s childhood that can not be forgotten. In a sense, this horrific scene actually played a major and positive role in shaping my grandmother’s character of who she is today.

During her early young teenage years my grandma lived by the north eastern border in a somewhat small city known as Wilno (though today Wilno is no longer part of Poland anymore ever since the new map introduced after World War two). Life was nice. But in 1939 things took a turn. The Germen Nazis invaded from the west and in only in a matter of weeks, the Russians from the east. Though resisted with great attempt, Poland was not ready for the war so they were not prepared to hold off the two fronts.

My grandma told me what it was like to survive under Russian control. Though not know to be as horrible as the Nazis, they did do some unbelievable cruelty that matches up with the germens. It was not safe for anyone to go out on the streets anymore. Piss a Russian soldier off and pow! Pow! A single shot in the head to an instant early grave. The Russian soldiers showed no mercy nor respect for the Poles. The Russians treated the poles as nasty useless objects. They behaved as if it was their goal or destiny to eliminate the Poles so that they can expand their nation. They treated them as if their lives did not really matter. They were now wild animal. They found it entertaining that Poles and their other enemies got murdered.

The Russians and Germens shot whoever they really wanted to. Unless told by a leader, they shot whoever they pleased to. Time to time the Russians would have rounded some Poles, made them get into single file lines and fire at them. My grandma was well aware that this was occurring. One day she decided to go to a daily noon mass at the big Roman Catholic Church, even though she went every Sunday. And while she was there she prayed for protection. With all the violence and chaos, she knew life no longer was as safe as it use to be. After the mass she had a warm feeling from God that some Russian troops were approaching so she hid herself into a damp wooden barrel that stood right next to the corner of the church. She thought it was embarrassing seen but instead it turned out to be a blessing miracle. And sure enough, a large vehicle with several Russian troopers came. They rounded up all who were near by (children, men, and women). Some tried to flee but had no luck at all. They were shot right in the back and collapsed dead. In Russian, the troopers made the crowd line up. Whoever disobeyed any order or broke the silence was shot. If one did not understand the Russian commands and if that person was caught, he or she would have been shot. A step or so behind the move/motion commands and click pow you are dead. She was horrified by the scene and was praying that no one would give her position away. As my grandmother watched through the hole of the barrel, slowly eventually all of the people were dead. Soon she began to smell smoke. The Russians were burning the dead bodies of the Poles. Blood was flowing everywhere from the bodies. My grandma hated the horrible smell from the smoke. It felt like hell in the barrel. But it was worth the cost because if she popped up, she would have been shot dead as the others were. Eventually a strong wind blew the fumes away. However, for safety reasons, she did not leave the barrel unit about long half hour or so went by. There was blood on the ground and the remains of the dead bodies laid everywhere. It felt as if she was the only one alive in the hell ghost town. After this, my grandmother became far more religious and took it more seriously. She prayed more frequently (every night before going to sleep) and to this day she is greatly thankful. It was thanks to her prayer and faith that saved her life.

Whenever  I hear this story, it makes me ask a question. It makes me ask “so am I lucky to be alive?” .if my grandma did not receive that miraculous message, then I would most likely not be here. But if I consider myself lucky to be alive, then that would mean everyone is somewhat lucky. We all experience life threatening situations.

I believe stories are passed down the generations for many reasons, particularly for the great benefits they provide. Even though we today are capable of recording on files and paper, such stories should never be put aside or forgotten. The stories we hear today help prevent the future generations from forgetting what the family went through and what should be gone through. It is important to pass down such family stories because it allows us to establish a better and bigger idea of who we are and how we came to be. It is important to know about what your family went through. It is like learning about the history of a nation. If stories are not passed down, we (which also the future coming generations) will never know who or how we came to be. Not knowing our history can cause several negative effects. If we do not know who helped us or disrupted us, who are we to thank? Who are we to give credit? Who are we to blame? Listening to these stories can make a huge positive impact on our lives. They can cheer us up such as through jokes and comedy, help us with making wiser decisions and help avoid making the same mistakes of the past, and they can help shape our character. This is what drives us forward and causes progress and success to occur, helping identify our true identity.