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Ethnic Life Stories Trail of Trees Episode 10: Regina Lotven
Regina Lotven was born in Nancy, France, on November 4, 1923. Her parents had both emigrated to France and met and married in Nancy. She and her younger sister Gytel and younger brother Henri grew up speaking Yiddish and French.
Lotven says she was a minority growing up Jewish in France. Her family lived in a cramped but clean apartment in a Jewish neighborhood. Growing up, she helped her mother with household chores and looked after her siblings. She was an excellent student and loved to read and learn.
Looming over her childhood was the threat of war. And that threat became much more present and literal with the Nazi occupation of Nancy in 1940. Her family had to wear a yellow Star of David whenever they left the house; plus they had to follow a slew of new ordinances that made them prisoners in their own homes.
Many people were fleeing to areas of France that were free from occupation, and Lotven and her siblings made their escape in July of 1942 when her father heard the Germans were intending to raid Jewish neighborhoods and round up all the Jewish people that night. The children had to leave that night with their parents’ promise that they would meet up again soon.
She was 18, Gytel was 17, and Henri was 13 when they sneaked onto a train southbound to Lyon. She cites the liberation of France in September 1944 as one of the most impactful moments of her life.
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Read all of the Ethnic Life Stories Project stories by clicking here.
Follow Friends of the gardens on social media! We post park events, promos, and announcements of new ELSTOT releases on our Facebook and Instagram.
Find out more about Friends of the Garden by visiting our website, friendsofthegarden.org.
Interested in supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit that maintains and enhances the gardens and trails at the Springfield Botanical Gardens? Find out more by clicking here.
Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.
Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.
View all episodes
By Friends of the GardenRegina Lotven was born in Nancy, France, on November 4, 1923. Her parents had both emigrated to France and met and married in Nancy. She and her younger sister Gytel and younger brother Henri grew up speaking Yiddish and French.
Lotven says she was a minority growing up Jewish in France. Her family lived in a cramped but clean apartment in a Jewish neighborhood. Growing up, she helped her mother with household chores and looked after her siblings. She was an excellent student and loved to read and learn.
Looming over her childhood was the threat of war. And that threat became much more present and literal with the Nazi occupation of Nancy in 1940. Her family had to wear a yellow Star of David whenever they left the house; plus they had to follow a slew of new ordinances that made them prisoners in their own homes.
Many people were fleeing to areas of France that were free from occupation, and Lotven and her siblings made their escape in July of 1942 when her father heard the Germans were intending to raid Jewish neighborhoods and round up all the Jewish people that night. The children had to leave that night with their parents’ promise that they would meet up again soon.
She was 18, Gytel was 17, and Henri was 13 when they sneaked onto a train southbound to Lyon. She cites the liberation of France in September 1944 as one of the most impactful moments of her life.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________-
Read all of the Ethnic Life Stories Project stories by clicking here.
Follow Friends of the gardens on social media! We post park events, promos, and announcements of new ELSTOT releases on our Facebook and Instagram.
Find out more about Friends of the Garden by visiting our website, friendsofthegarden.org.
Interested in supporting the 501(c)3 nonprofit that maintains and enhances the gardens and trails at the Springfield Botanical Gardens? Find out more by clicking here.
Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.
Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.