Chains of War

By Debra Harkins and Sylvia Harkins

Born Under a Bad Sign

During the Second World War, as the Nazis began their nine-month blitz over Britain, a young woman is evacuated from London to escape the violence and preserve the growing life inside of her. She safely delivered an infant girl on New Year's Day in 1941. To escape the reign of Nazi terror and antisemitism, they separated the baby, Sylvia, from her family, who remained with her beloved auntie throughout the war.

 

In 1945, her parents return her to London to begin a new life with a family she barely knew. This is the true story of Sylvia's journey and triumph over a life marked by adversity—escaping the horrors of the Second World War and rise in antisemitism to find an unwelcome entry into America followed by a life of abuse, heartbreaking loss and more.

 

Chains of War is Sylvia Harkins' powerful story, as written by her daughter, from her humble beginnings as a Jewish child during the uncertainty of Nazi terror, Sylvia's story is ultimately one of triumph and the power of inner strength to move forward no matter the obstacle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Purple Owl Publishing
• Release date: Sep 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215031582

Debra Harkins

Debra A. Harkins grew up in Boston, MA. A lifelong educator and practitioner of developmental, clinical and community psychology, Debra writes across several genres, including academic psychology, family biographies and children's book. She lives in Newton with her husband and two mini golden doodles.

Book preview

Forward

Sylvia began writing her recollections of her life, per Debra’s persistent requests, in the second half of 2020. She finished her initial writings around March 2021 and emailed approximately 18 pages of her recollections to Debra, with the title, Sylvia’s story. Unfortunately, the COVID global pandemic hit, and Sylvia suffered from life-threatening illnesses in 2021 that prevented her and Debra from focusing and moving forward with writing her biography.

Once Sylvia recovered from her illnesses, Debra once began to focus on her mother’s biography. From the end of January through February 2022—Debra, living in Newton, Massachusetts and Sylvia, in her Myrtle Beach rental condo in South Carolina—had daily and nightly marathon phone calls to ensure accuracy and expansion of life events, which led Sylvia to recall even more as we dug deeper into her memories.

The first book title considered was A Rose Grows, symbolizing not only Sylvia’s deep focus on love but to acknowledge her maiden name, Rosen. The second book title discussed was A Nomadic Life, reflecting her many nomad-like moves. This title seemed to fit well as Debra had long described her mother, Sylvia, as a nomad while she watched in amazement at the effortless way Sylvia was able to just pick up and move throughout her life. Another working title Sylvia and Debra pondered was, Life Goes On, after Sylvia saw the powerful WW2 image of a boy placing a flag in the London rubble that eventually inspired the background for this book cover. Sylvia finally settled on Chains of War as she felt it more aptly captured how the war impacted her life in obvious and indirect ways.

The image of Sylvia on top left front cover is a photo shared with Debra in 2015 by Sylvia’s paternal cousin, Ruth Padorr. Ruth found this photo in an album from her late mother, Sylvia’s paternal Aunt Itta. On the back of the photo written in Yiddish was Sylvia 1952 and was likely given to Itta by Sylvia’s father, James when he visited his siblings in Cuba¹.

When Sylvia was asked why she wanted her story told, she said she wanted to set an example for future generations, for them to not be ashamed to tell all that happened as even the warts make you who you are. Second, and most importantly to know that above all love helps overcome the worst of any adversity. Sylvia’s many illnesses, her endless moves, and her sweet and bitter experiences marked a challenging and difficult life, but she did so with aplomb and deep love and here she tells the story of it for her family and in memory of her much-loved Auntie Illiot.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my dear brother (f-a-m) Gary Balestrieri for using his amazing photography skills to take photos of old photos—still don’t know how you do it. A huge shout out to Jessika Diamond for her copyediting for this book and Secrets of Jacob, making the writing so much better in both. To Esther van Bokhorst for her wonderful cover illustration including all the symbolic pieces into one image and working tirelessly with us to get it perfect. Maria Henehan for her WW2/Holocaust literature experience and providing excellent edits for the book description. And my husband, Bill Balint for always stepping up to read the latest iteration of my writing no matter how tired. –Debra

Thank you to my darling daughter Debra for taking the time to write this biography. –Sylvia

Chapter 1

Countryside Beginnings

Evacuated² to the countryside to escape Hitler’s German Blitz³ in London, Caroline delivered a little girl, Sylvia, in a country hospital on January 1, 1941⁴ in Hitchin, Hertford, England. When Caroline and infant Sylvia left the hospital, they moved to a council home⁵ in Hitchin Hertford. This town outside of London was a relatively safe distance from the massive bombings in the city, but even here bombings and air raids occurred, including those Sylvia recalled at the end of the street where she lived.

Auntie Illiot

After the Blitz ended in May 1941 but while the war raged on, Caroline⁶ returned to London but left her one-year-old daughter to be fostered by a woman Sylvia affectionately called Auntie Illiot.

Auntie Illiot’s warm and affectionate displays of emotion had a profound and lasting impact on Sylvia:

It is my sincere belief that Auntie Illiot shaped the first five years of my life. She was a loving and kind person just like her sister and her children. I remember spending many days at Auntie Iliott’s sisters farm and running from the chickens (I didn’t like the chickens because they pecked at me) and also picking the peaches in the summer.

Auntie Illiot had three daughters and a son. I was very close to two of her daughters, Violet and Maude. They treated me and loved me as if I was part of the family. At four, I was a flower girl in Maude’s wedding. It was as if I was an important member of their family.

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Sylvia as flower girl at her foster sister Maude’s wedding, circa 1944

Sylvia happily recollected the gardens in the back of Auntie Illiot’s home:

At the back of the house, Auntie Illiot had a very big garden. I loved that garden and how much I loved picking gooseberries and eating so many I made myself sick (well maybe not that part). I also used to pick the carrots and all the vegetables. Behind the garden were many fields and separating the first two fields were nut trees like walnut and hazel trees and other nut trees. I used to throw sticks to get the nuts down because I was too short to reach. Beyond the fields of nut trees were rolling hills of buttercups, which I ran through and used to lay down in a field of buttercups and hold them under my chin so I would have a little yellow beard.

Ever the attentive motherly figure, Auntie Illiot took Sylvia on many trips to parks and on walks. Sylvia warmly related how kindly her Auntie Illiot took care by her when she was sick,

I suffered from bad stomach aches and earaches. She would come to my bedroom upstairs and give me medicine, rub my stomach and put warm oil in my ear.

While the countryside was far safer than the city, air raids still happened. Sylvia revealed being terrified of the loud screams of the air raid warnings⁷. But she pointed out how her always-loving Auntie Illiot held her hand tightly and ran to the air raid with Sylvia in tow.

I remember when I was four, hearing the air raid warnings and she would hold my hand and we would run for the air raid shelter. I still jump at any loud noise or ringing.

Sylvia stressed that her Auntie Illiot was the best surrogate mother a child could ask for.

She elaborated about her time living with Illiot until the age of five (the year the Second World War ended) and the distress she experienced when her parents arrived and brought her back to live in London. Sylvia’s painful recounting of how she felt leaving her Auntie Illiot.

I stayed with Auntie Illiot until I was five, and the war was over, and then I had to go back to London. I remember missing her so much.

Missing her Auntie Illiot, Sylvia described how she took every advantage she could to see her including spending all her school vacations with her Auntie. Sylvia fondly reminisced that Summer was fun in the country, with so much to do, like chasing rabbits. She considered herself one of the lucky children who got to enjoy Summers outside London. Detailing the happy times, she had on those summer vacations, Sylvia said,

I was always getting into mischief. One time I ran down