The Personal Memories of Sr. Anna Bittner, DW, Part 8

Sr. Anna’s work in Brooklyn earned her a citation from the Borough President and Staff in the early nineties.

I remember once Resi saved my life. We were standing at the edge of a cliff watching the fishermen in the River Danube. Dad was working in the field nearby. Resi warned me that the fishermen sometimes threw small explosives into the water so the fish would surface. With that, just such an explosion scared me, and I jumped leaning forward. Resi grabbed me, and we just held onto each other, overcome with deep emotion.

Another vivid memory I have was when we were still home after Mom's death. I'd roam through the house looking for her in closets and everywhere. (I had seen her in the coffin and was there for the funeral, but my way of coping with her loss was so intense.) In my roaming, through the house, I found a rifle but didn't realize that it was loaded. I started playing soldier (that was before the horrible experiences at the hands of the soldiers) and pointing it at Resi. Thank God both she and Dad screamed at me, and I froze. It was simply taken away from me, and I never saw it again.

I can't imagine what life would have been like without Resi, what guilt what horrifying memories, worse than anything I've experienced or ever put into words.

Last but not least, let me tell you about John. He was intelligent, inquisitive, playful. He always wanted to know how things worked. Taking apart things like radio, clock, and then putting them back together again. That's where the mechanic was born. Once he took a watch apart but couldn't put it together again. That time he did get into trouble with Dad.

John and my cousin Adam were best friends and virtually inseparable. During harvest time, they would spend the nights together guarding our small vineyard near the Danube in Neu Slankamen.