Nicky & Vera

Nicky was born in 1909,
into a century full of promise.

‘At Nicky’s, school, the students were encouraged to follow their interests, whatever they were!

Nicky discovered he liked mathematics, stamp collecting, photography, and fencing.

The students had all kinds of pets

Nicky raised pigeons

It didn’t matter what the students were interested in

‘so long as they were interested in something.

As a young man, Nicky traveled all over Europe

He worked as a banker:

He learned German and French; how to ride a motorcyde, drive a car, and fly a plane

He was an expert fencer,

on an Olympic team:

Nicky and his friends talked about politics. They worried about the situation in Europe. In Germany; the Nazi party, led by Adolf Hitter was building an army.

In December 1938, Nicky planned to take a skiing vacation, but a friend called.

“Come to Prague,” he said.

In 1938, Vera was ten years old.

She lived with her family in a small town near the big city of Prague.

Vera was the Queen of Cats.

She would adopt a stray whenever she found one.

She loved to feed the horses that pulled the wagon for her parents’ business.

It was a happy childhood.