Steven W. Brallier - Mitkas Secret: A True Story of Child Slavery and Surviving the Holocaust

In this well-written, well-researched story, the reader lives with a solitary little Jewish boy in the house of a German family in World War II, dressed in rags, often bitterly cold, always hungry, doing heavy work in the fields or lying alone at night in the dark, totally ignorant of the outside world. The constant fear of the unknown, the arbitrary punishments, the minuscule pleasures that could brighten a whole day, the complex relationships with his captors are all there, but above all there is the will to survive as an upright manas he so triumphantly did.

Reg Green
author of The Nicholas Effect: A Boys Gift to the World

To meet Mitka Kalinski and to hear his story, the hurdles and horrors he overcame, is to understand that love once in a while triumphs over hatredthat perseverance, hard work, compassion, and more than a dose of boyish good luck help one survive a World War. Mitkas story is amazing and, in the end, beautiful. His ability to forgive, to move forward, to raise a family and build a life in the West is just as profound. His courage to confront the painful past of his youth, to share it all with his wife Adrienne, and to return to the hell from which he escaped so many decades agothis carries lessons for all of us. We must bear witness; we must never forget.

Jacob Wheeler
independent journalist in Traverse City, Michigan

The moment I heard Mitkas story, I immediately knew I needed to write music for it. How often do you get a canvas like that of Mitka Kalinskis life? It has been an absolute honor to be involved with every aspect of his life, and this project and getting to know him has made me a better personmore grateful, kinder, and more willing to be patient with others. This is a story that everyone needs to hear, for it will absolutely change the life of all who are touched by it for the better.

Jordan S. Roper
film composer and creator of the symphonic composition My Name Is Mitka

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

4035 Park East Court SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

www.eerdmans.com

2021 Steven W. Brallier, Joel N. Lohr, and Lynn G. Beck

All rights reserved

Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Although the publisher and the authors have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time and while this publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered, the publisher and the authors assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies herein and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

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ISBN 978-0-8028-7916-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Brallier, Steven W., author. | Lohr, Joel N., author. | Beck, Lynn G., author.

Title: Mitkas secret : a true story of child slavery & surviving the Holocaust / Steven W. Brallier with Joel N. Lohr and Lynn G. Beck.

Description: Grand Rapids, Michigan : William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2021. | Summary: The remarkable life story of Mitka Kalinski, who, while still a child, survived the Holocaust and seven years of enslavement to a Nazi officer, then began a new life in the United States and revealed his secret past decades laterProvided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021003752 | ISBN 9780802879165 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Kalinski, Mitka. | Jewish menUkraineBiography. | Holocaust, Jewish (19391945)UkrainePersonal narratives. | Holocaust survivorsUnited StatesBiography.

Classification: LCC DS135.U43 B73 2021 | DDC 940.53/18092 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021003752

Biblical quotations follow the New Jewish Publication Society translation unless otherwise noted.

Dedicated to the children of the Holocaust whose stories will never be told

On Twelfth Street in the Nevada town of Sparks sits a dwelling so modest it surely attracts no attention save for the tchotchkes that decorate the exterior. In the front yard, songbirds fly in and out of a stunted tree to feast on seeds, and a homemade sprinkler contraption irrigates the postage-stamp patch of grass between the house and a chain-link fence. Two plastic replicas of Jack Daniels statue guard the door to the enclosed front porch.

There stands an old man prepared to greet us. Ramrod straight, he looks larger than his six-foot frame and younger by a decade than his eighty-plus years. The brim of his ball cap is unable to conceal the aura of easy, contagious joy that radiates from his sky-blue eyes. He leans forward with a smile.

My name is Mitka, he says as he extends a broad hand with fingers that feel like hammer handles. Come in, come in.

He turns and opens the door.

We make our way across the cramped porch, filled with solar-powered toys (our grandson, Stephenhe gives those to us), hackneyed axioms on posters, and boxes. Inside the living room, an Elvis clock, legs swinging as the seconds pass, hangs beside a picture of Jesus. One menorah sits atop a bookcase; another adorns the mantle. Photographs are everywhere.

Mitka gives us a tour, item by item, each with its own story. Often he recalls the person who gave it to him. Sometimes he describes how he purchased a piece on a trip with family. As he talks, the objects become more than just trinkets. They hold personal memories, connecting Mitka to people and places.

Lynn Beck and Joel Lohrmy writing partnerswalk with me into the wide but shallow room that is both a dining and a living area. We find chairs around a four-top table. Adrienne, Mitkas wife, sits at one end with Mitka at her side.

Two weeks ago Joel, a professor and friend, approached me with a fantastic story. Over a casual dinner with Lynn (who is also my wife) and me, he shared the broad outline of Mitkas story. It was a story that his neighbor Robert Lucchesi had doggedly tried to bring to the big screen for some twenty-five years, ever since he met Mitka while camping in Bodega Bay. Prospective deals came and went, but Adrienne steadfastly held to her belief that a book needed to be written before any movie could be made.

Joel, a published author, took an interest and had begun exploring how to get Mitkas story written as a book.

But he had questions. He knew this was a big story. It was my experience as a onetime agent for the William Morris Agency that prompted Joels inquiries. After answering Joels questions, I took a chanceWould you and Robert consider me as the writer of Mitkas story?

After reading some writing samples I sent him, Joel called a few days later. Can you schedule a trip to Sparks to meet Mitka and Adrienne? Could it be next week?

Joel explained that the trip was necessary for one reason alone. If Iwith the help of Lynn and Joelwas going to be the writer of Mitkas story, then it would come down to a simple question: Could Mitka and Adrienne trust us with their story?

And so there we sat in a house that for six decades has been the home of Mitka and Adrienne Kalinski, two improbable people whose lives were shaped by one of Western civilizations greatest crimes: the Holocaust. Each one of us gathered around the table realized that now, at last, Mitka was ready to have his story told.