Amalie Petranker

Amalie was one of three daughters born to Jewish parents. The family lived in Stanislav [Stanislawow], Poland. Her father was an ardent supporter of resettlement in Palestine, and dreamed of moving his family there to help build the Jewish homeland. Amalie and her sisters attended private Hebrew primary and secondary schools to help prepare them for their eventual immigration to Palestine.

1933-39: In September 1939 Stanislav [Stanislawow] was occupied by the Soviet army. Amalie's father lost his job in the forestry department, and was made a laborer. Amalie applied to medical school but instead was admitted to an institute to become a math and science teacher. Later her stipend was rescinded because she was from a "bourgeois" family. The 600 rubles per month tuition was three times her father's monthly salary. She was forced to stop her education.

1940-45: Amalie escaped to Cracow [Krakow] in 1942 as Felicia Milaszewska, a Catholic Pole. In October 1944, she got a job in an Austrian firm hired by the German army to wire Cracow with explosives. The Germans planned to destroy Cracow after retreating. As the Soviets advanced in December, the firm evacuated to Austria. She was left to "manage" the company. When the order came by phone to detonate the explosives, Amalie acknowledged the command, but disobeyed. When the Soviets arrived, she supplied plans showing the location of the explosives.

Cracow was liberated by the Soviet army on January 19, 1945. Amalie stayed in Cracow for seven months to help returning Jewish survivors. She immigrated to the United States in 1947.