LITTLE IMMIGRANT
The story of a girl who survived World War II
and her family's emigration to Brazil

Translation from Portuguese - Barbara and Lesław Zimni

DEDICATION

I dedicate the book to my family: mother Julia, father Dariusz and brother Lech (in memoriam).
And to all immigrants of various nationalities who experienced and survived the horrors of World War II.                                                                                              Wanda Zimny

REVIEW

The book is a narrative of the life of the Zimny ​​family, seen through the eyes of a little girl during World War II. Far from their home country, alone, forced to do hard slave work. It is a family mini epic in which the author describes in surprising detail the everyday life of a child who lived in three countries, met people of other nationalities, and, above all, saw the greatest of all wars taking place!
It's a synthesis of two stories. In the first one, Wanda talks about her post-war emigration from Germany to Brazil, her experiences during a long ship journey and the everyday life of those who were forced to leave their country to start a new life abroad. In the second part, she tells, through the eyes of Julia's mother, all the events related to the deportation of the Zimny ​​family from her beloved Poland to Germany for forced labor, and from there the journey to distant and unknown Brazil.
The book is divided into two distinct but very interconnected parts. The events of one result from the other. The reader learns the direct accounts of those who survived World War II in a good literary narrative. The story is so tragic that it seems fictional.
Wanda decided to write this book to preserve the memory of her mother, closest friend, father and siblings, and so that other immigrants from that time and their descendants could read her story and identify with these events.
Wanda was left alone in the foreign land. All descendants of her family who survived this tragic time with her are no longer alive. The author decided to act and do something that would leave the story of their lives as a legacy. The bond with her mother was always so strong that from a friend and confidant, Wanda also became her biographer, dedicating her life's work to Julia and her father and brother.

 Humberto Ohlweiler Ayres, Profesor Portuguese language and literature

PREFACE

It is an honor, an honor and a great responsibility for me to preface this work with a foreword. In 2014, I completed an internship as a social worker at CRAS (Social Assistance Center) in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area, in the Alvorada district. There I met Mrs. Wanda, a member of a group of seniors of Polish origin. She revealed to me her desire to write a story about her family who survived World War II.
I watched the sparkle and emotion in her eyes. I said, “Then put your whole story down on paper and make your dreams come true!”
And she, at the age of 75, despite difficulties and uncertainty (not knowing whether the book would be published), wrote with pleasure; and the more poems she wrote down, the more her memory came back to those times. As the author herself says: "It seemed to me that they were whispering in my ear."
The story was written in a very particular way.
That's why I take on the responsibility of describing the work, looking for the sensitivity with which Wanda had to talk about the war seen through the eyes of a child.
The book is divided into two parts. In the first part, the author talks about going to Brazil in the post-war period and life after arrival. Living with different ethnic groups brought rich experiences, but they did not know how difficult it would be, even with the support of old emigrants. The difficulties were enormous.
In the second part of the book, titled "How it all began", Wanda describes the entire history of the formation of her family: the marriage of her parents just after the outbreak of the war, when Poland, the geographically closest country, was the first occupied country, and its people had to work slaves for the occupier only for modest food.
Wanda survived the war and talks in detail about those times when she and her family suffered so much. The will to live was so strong that they could survive the most difficult situations. Only those who survived the war know how precious life is. Despite so much suffering, man's goal is to protect life.
The book tells in detail about a journey to Brazil in search of an uncertain future, about coexistence with many immigrants, about the bitterness of leaving the homeland and leaving loved ones, with the only certainty that they will never see them again and the feeling that now they will belong to a completely new, different world.
History also emphasizes that unity and solidarity minimize differences between people and give strength to man. I believe that many immigrants reading this work will identify with the various experiences they have had and will be moved by it.
Wanda's friendship with her mother Julia is also important. The mother passed on her entire story to her daughter, hoping that one day the world would know her life and the lives of other people.
The work is a testimony to the courage and overcoming the hardships of life of many immigrants who fought for everyday survival and accepted Brazil as their new homeland.
In this foreword, I want to emphasize that we must dream dreams... And that making them come true is our mission. And that's exactly what Wanda Zimna did: she fulfilled her dream of writing the book of her life, she did it for all immigrants.
Congratulations to the author and everyone who contributed to making this dream come true.

 Carla Rosane Lopes de Freitas, social worker

FROM THE TRANSLATORS

 Wanda, who had not written literary texts before, at the age of 75, wrote an autobiographical novel by hand (without a computer) in a short time. It required a lot of courage and determination from her. She described in great detail the history of her family in three countries. The book is read with great interest, but also with compassion and disbelief that it really happened. That these young people with small children, working as slaves beyond their strength, survived these tragic years during the German occupation.

After the death of her parents, Wanda can no longer speak Polish. Her father died 43 years ago and her mother 33 years ago. Despite this, he still speaks Polish perfectly. She cultivates Polish customs and traditions learned from her family home. Is there anyone in Brazil from Poland or other nationalities who could speak their native language so beautifully after so many years?
Wanda retained the true Polish patriotism passed on by her parents and has retained her Polish citizenship to this day. Such patriotism is lacking among contemporary descendants of immigrants in Brazil. Residents of other nationalities, as well as Poles, should learn it from Her.
A nation without history is like a tree without roots. That is why it is so important to cultivate our traditions and customs and preserve the language of our ancestors.

We learned about the war in history classes. We also know it from the stories of parents who survived those terrible years, but this was only information. With your book, you showed us what the war really was and what life was like on forced labor and in emigration.
Wanda, dear cousin, thank you for this book.

                                                                                 Barbara and Lesław Zimni, Wrocław 1.10.2021 r.