Chapter 7 ■ Heading East
My father’s plan to get himself and Otylia to America took longer than expected as they encountered numerous complications and obstacles while escaping Poland. As agreed in the Soviet-German Nonaggression Pact of 1939, Stalin claimed all of Poland east of the Bug River. Germans and Soviet soldiers squeezed the Polish people in at every bridge, and my parents’ path to freedom would necessitate finding their way to centers of major transportation. Yet to get there, they found refuge in smaller, more secluded villages.
Nazi propaganda spread the myth that the legendary Polish cavalry had charged the German panzers with lances. Although such tales were exaggerated, it was true that the once-mighty Polish cavalry—despite being one million men strong—found it impossible to defend against this new reality. This was a different kind of war, of steel and motors, and a sophisticated, aggressive air force.
The First Lady of Underfashions is a nonfiction saga-like memoir written by Christina Erteszek and includes excerpts from her parents' unpublished memoirs. It is a complex, layered, and nuanced story that bridges the violence of war, the innovation of thought, the singularity of religion, the quest for identity, and the intrigues and intricacies of family life. Jan and Olga escape from World War II Europe and arrive in the US with just a few dollars. They turn their paltry savings into a multi-million-dollar fashion business. Olga becomes a leading patent holder of female lingerie, a trendsetter in the industry, and is widely known for her innovative business tactics. But as this husband-and-wife team think of retiring, they decide to merge with another fashion company, which proves to be a fatal move when a loophole in the agreement allows for a hostile takeover. This is also a story of a daughter's need to find herself. Along her path to self-discovery, she discovers her parents have many secrets, some of which will never be revealed.