Gita Furman's Family Loss and Hidden Name

This character-destiny thread follows Gita's loss of her family, her refusal to give her name, and the moment her true identity breaks into the light.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Promise of a Name

The Promise of a Name Lale Sokolov asks Gita Furman for her last name and where she comes from. She refuses, saying she is only a number. A Vow for Later Lale asks her to promise that before they leave this place she will tell him who she truly is. She agrees. The Secret She Carries Gita's hidden name is tangled with her lost family. Saying it aloud would make the loss too real.

Mrs Goldstein's News

Mrs Goldstein's News Hilda Goldstein, a neighbor from Vranov nad Topl'ou, arrives in Gita Furman's block. She tells Gita that her parents and sisters were taken months earlier and her brothers had already joined the resistance. The Unspoken End Mrs Goldstein drops her head and cannot finish the sentence. Gita understands that her family is gone. A Terrible Emptiness Gita falls to the floor as Dana and Ivana embrace her. She feels a terrible emptiness and wonders if she is allowed to cry a little.

Refusing the Murderers Tears

Refusing the Murderers Tears Gita Furman tells Dana and Ivana that she will not let the murderers have more than a few tears. She has guarded her grief because crying feels like surrender. Strength Through Grief The newcomers and old prisoners slowly join together, each going into their own dark place of despair. Gita stands and embraces Mrs Goldstein. A Wall Around the Heart Gita's refusal to weep freely becomes a survival mechanism. She knows that if she lets the grief out completely, she may not survive the camp.

Surname at the Gates

Surname at the Gates As Gita Furman is swept toward the gates of Birkenau, she sees Lale Sokolov fall to his knees. In that moment of separation, she shouts, 'Furman. My name is Gita Furman!' The Promise Kept She had promised to tell him her name on the day they left this place. The evacuation is that day, and she keeps her promise even as they are torn apart. A Name in the Snow Lale learns her surname just before she disappears. The knowledge becomes a thread he uses to find her after the war.

Reunion with Brothers

Reunion with Brothers Gita Furman looks out of a Bratislava apartment window and sees two young Russian soldiers jumping over the back fence. They are her brothers, Doddo and Latslo. A Brief Sweetness The brothers dare not stay because locals are suspicious of anyone in Russian uniform. Gita keeps the news of her parents' death to herself so the reunion is not spoiled. Laughter Among the Ruins She tells them she once wore a Russian uniform and looked better in it than they do. They laugh, and for a moment the war recedes.

A Mother's Vision and a Son

A Mother's Vision and a Son In the camp, when Gita Furman was very ill, her dead mother came to her in a vision and told her she would get better, move to a faraway land, and have a son. The Prophecy Fulfilled Gita survives Auschwitz, emigrates to Australia, and gives birth to Gary Sokolov in 1961 at the age of thirty-six. The Future That Was Promised The vision gives Gita a reason to live. Her son's existence is the fulfillment of the promise her mother made to her in the depths of illness.

summer 1942, behind the administration building

late 1943, when Hilda Goldstein arrives in Gita's block

after the news, in Block 29

January 1945, during the evacuation of Birkenau

1945, in Bratislava after the war

decades later, recounted in Gary Sokolov's afterword