Castles in the Sky (by Anita Cukier)

Anita Cukier

My name is Anita Cukier. I am the daughter of two Holocaust survivors. Shortly after my mother’s death, my world was shaken by the revelation that my mother had an untold secret. Castles in the Sky explores my quest to find clues to the secret in the stories my mother told, both fairy tales and real-life experiences. From my parents’ first-hand account of their time in Auschwitz to my personal story of moving from Walbrzych to Australia and later the USA, Castles in the Sky delves into diverse themes, ranging from anti-Semitism (both the Holocaust and contemporary) to the breakdown of a mother–daughter relationship.

When Anita discovered that her mother had kept a secret from her for her entire life, it changed everything. Castles in the Sky is a journey through the past as Anita searches for answers in her memories and the stories she was told. Part memoir and part retelling of her parents’ experiences, including their harrowing time in Auschwitz, Anita reflects on the nature of identity and what it means to be a Jew born in Poland or a Polish Jew. It is about an only child, who grew up with parents who were both Holocaust survivors.

The narrative spans the lives of Anita and her parents, from her time as a child in communist Poland, entranced by her magical storytelling mother, to finding her own way in the USA. Castles in the Sky explores Anita’s changing relationship with a mother who created her own world to deal with her trauma and a father who was resilient and happy on the surface, but wracked by nightmares and guilt beneath. The deeper Anita delves into her past, the more she realizes that her search is intertwined with the breakdown of her relationship with her mother and her mother’s inner conflicts. As her obsession with the secret becomes more intense, Anita comes to realizations that have implications far beyond herself and her family.