SukritiChoosing one out of the two people we love the most is no doubt one of the most distressing things a person would be asked to do. But the word “war” makes all the distressing things way more common for the civilians. During the most unfortunate of all the wars ever to be written in the books of history, such incidents took place every moment. From the infamous little girl in a red coat who walked expressionless on the roads of the Ghetto in the Schindler’s List to The Pianist who lived through the unbearable during the Holocaust, everyone had a story of agony.
One such story remains less known till date. The story of a woman named Claire Prowisor and her father, Chaskel Prowisor. A story of choices and separation, love and loss, guilt and redemption that will make you believe the unbelievable.
Young Immigrant
On the outskirts of Hamburg, Germany, in 1922, Klara Prowisor was born in a Jewish family with strong religious beliefs. Her father Chaskel Prowisor was from Poland while her mother Chana belonged to a far off place in Germany. She was their first child and they use to call her Klärchen with love. Luckily, the Prowisor family wasn’t going to live in Germany for too long…
Making A Move
Klara was not even 5 years old when her family moved to the west in Brussels, Belgium. Chaskel, her father hoped to get a better job in Brussels. Sadly, things were never in the poor man’s favor who loved his family the most but found himself in front of money. The Prowisor family was never able to maintain a stable life, not even in the new city.
Shattered Dreams
Chaskel Prowisor moved to Brussels without a work permit which was the biggest obstacle in getting a well-paid job. They were not even granted the permanent residency permit. Seeing his children struggling with life, Chaskel, a family man fall in the dark pit of depression. He started drinking often and this brought him into trouble with the police every now and then. What made things worse was the bitter reality that Chaskel was expelled from Belgium for not being a resident and was sent back to Germany.
Rough Childhood
Klara who began to use her name’s French version, Claire saw everything falling apart at a tender age. It impacted her badly enough that while she was a young teen she made a decision to take get a hold on the things. Being the eldest among four siblings, Claire took the big step in order to help her father to get out of the dark.
Young And Daring
In order to support her family and give them the stability they always wished for, Claire Prowisor started working at the age of 15. Not only the young teen started working but also she was the highest paid person in her family. Trying to get help for her father she even wrote to the Queen Mother to let Chaskel permanently live in Belgium as the chances of earning were better there.
Queen To The Rescue
When nobody was expecting any response from her, Queen Élizabeth did reply. It wasn’t just a reply but the much-needed help that Claire would remember for the rest of her life. Chaskel was granted a work permit along with a fixed salary of same pay as Claire’s earnings. The good times didn’t last for too long and this time not even the Queen could have helped the Prowisor family.