Jorge Kiwel was born in Waltorp, Germany, in March 1945. But instead of a hospital, he came into the world in the most inhospitable place possible for a human being: in a Nazi concentration camp. He was born at the wrong time and place, in the midst of World War II. His mother Janina and father Alfanasi were Polish prisoners. She was captured when she was still pregnant. But she ended up having the child incarcerated. And, in the midst of the barbarities he witnessed, he did everything a mother could have done: she saved her son. Jorge, today, lives in Campo Mourão, a city with almost 100 a thousand inhabitants in the interior of Paraná. At the height of his 40 years, he was spared the unsettling memories his parents had in life.
Between 1933 and 1945 Nazi Germany built 20 a thousand concentration camps to imprison millions of victims. The camps were used for a variety of purposes: forced labor camps, transitional camps, and as death camps built primarily, or exclusively, for mass murder. Since its rise to power in 1933, the Nazi regime has built a series of detention centers intended for the incarceration and elimination of so-called enemies of the state.
Even raised in Poland in times of conflict, Alfanasi and Janina Kiwel could not have foreseen that they would end up in these camps. They were born in the decade of 12, and, made for each other, managed to get married close to the 20 years old. But three days after the marriage, still in 1924, they became prisoners of war. Forced to work in rural Germany, they witnessed scenes of terror that will never be forgotten.
The family’s memories refer to a past of nightmares, torture, hunger and anguish. Scars still open from the pain. They reveal human resistance to atrocities. They identify the barbarities of a race that mutilates itself. Which is definitely not respected.
The couple’s destiny began to be traced in the beginning of the decade of 26. After marrying, they were separated and forced to work as slaves in Nazi concentration camps. Near Berlin, the couple stayed in the countryside. They worked day and night, an inhuman day.
Digging their own grave
Janina was already pregnant and, after five months, she was transferred to a prison hospital. Mainly, due to the military rejection by foreign children. In March 1944, after the birth of her first child, Jorge, Janina prevented the child from being killed by bottle poisoning. It was a common practice at that time: Nazis executing newborns.
In the concentration camp, Janina juggled to hide her son. She often hid it under her mattress. Months later, the prison hospital she was in was bombed and ended up collapsing. Hundreds of people died. She and her son were buried. Jorge was in her arms at the moment. Despite being injured, they ended up alive. After a few days, she was removed to another prison. But she managed to escape, taking her son.
Accompanied by another woman — there is no information about her — and with the help of anonymous people, she traveled part of the train journey. Other 23 kilometers he did on foot, without eating, until he reached the place where his companion was imprisoned. On the way, she had to hide several times from German troops. She also witnessed bombs fall around her. “She said that she passed over dozens of mutilated soldiers’ bodies along the way,” said Jorge.
Janina faced many obstacles until she reached her husband. In addition to fear, hunger was quite cruel. Along the way, there was no one to ask for help. They were all enemies. There was no water, much less food. And her concern at that moment was no longer with her. But yes, with his own son. Janina did the impossible for the two of them to survive. She was fearless, like a lioness defending her cub.
Before she died, Alfanasi narrated her entire trajectory to her son. “He suffered a lot from food when he was still a prisoner. The condition boiled down to bad, poor quality food. For this reason he was very hungry. He lost weight. He stayed on the bone,” Jorge said. At the same time, he witnessed thousands of people starve to death. It was 100 grams of bread in the morning. Beetroot with potato skins with soil and all. And soup for lunch and dinner, he recalled.
The meager meal was served in a concentration camp, where more than five thousand people were huddled together. Many weakened and, little by little, dying from lack of food. Those who could still walk were forced to dig their own graves. And, in front of the holes, they were machine-gunned. “He saw a lot of blood flow in that colony”, revealed Kiwel.
Towards Brazil
After the end of the war, part of the prisoners sheltered in the of Nazi concentration managed to survive. The Kiwel are on this list. After meeting again, in the post-war period, they came to Brazil, more precisely to Campo Mourão. They left the lands with blood to now, live in red lands.
Alfanasi was a survivor of war and time. According to reports, his entire Polish family was killed in the War. The couple came to Brazil in 1933 , along with another two thousand fugitives sent by the Red Cross. Polish, he arrived in Campo Mourão in the first days of 1944, next to his son , Jorge, and Janina.
In the red lands, the couple worked as settlers, guaranteeing their first jobs on coffee and cotton farms. Alfanasi said it was a strange country, with different customs and a weird language. It was such a difficult starting over as easy as the fear of a new war.
Jorge was five years old. Nothing remembers that time of war. But he knows that he was born twice: during and after Hitler fell. In Campo Mourão, he raised his family and became a farmer. He’s a good guy, good with life. In fact, a sarrista. But behind the quiet man, there is a story of a lot of suffering. He knows he owes his mother everything. Still alive, Janina said that she hid it so that German soldiers would not see it. Like a doll, Jorge was wrapped in sheets and pillowcases and then hidden under the mattress. The child seemed to understand. It remained silent. Janina died in 2005, a victim of cancer.
In Campo Mourão, Jorge also worked as a worker in large constructions, such as at Usina Mourão and at the Hotel Santa Maria. Already accustomed to the red dust of the region, the Kiwel had their second child, Antônio. With him, five grandchildren, in addition to six other great-grandchildren.
Alfanasi died of heart failure, in October 2016, at
years old. He raised his two sons and was said to have become one of the greatest worshipers of this land. He always worked as a construction worker, more specifically, as a carpenter. Antônio, the youngest son, retired from the telephony business. Today he also owns a small rural property. This is a gentleman. He was always jealous of his old father. Now, without their parents, Jorge and Antônio continue the Kiwel saga. The family survived the war and chose Campo Mourão to find their freedom. And, who knows, relief for the soul.
Author’s Note: This report is a tribute to Janina (12/09/1924 – 15/40 /2005) and Alfanasi Kiwel (23/ /93 – 23 /02/2016), as well as all their descendants. In addition to them, to all the other people who have been and are going through the horrors of wars and conflicts. May History teach us to make history.