Lola Krojtoru

Lola Krojtoru

A story from Bette & PJ:
Lola was a Selmonsky cousin from Belgium. She fought for the resistance during World War II and had a higher rank than her husband Alex, as did all the women. They came to the States for a visit in 1982 which included both a stop at Bette’s home and one at Sue’s.

Because Lola and Alex did not speak English, Uncle Itzik and Aunt Louise accompanied them on their travels and they formed a translation chain. Alex would speak French to Lola who would translate what he said into Yiddish. Then Itzik would translate what Lola said in Yiddish into English. My parents would answer in English. And then they would reverse.

As they translated back and forth, I was reminded of the classic scene in “I Love Lucy.” when she is in the French jail and a similar translation chain was formed. It was just as much fun as that was.

Here’s a link to the clip in case you don’t remember it…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xle3I-5nfpI

Lola and Ethel stayed in touch for years.