Zirinsky

A Memoir of Survival, Resilience, and the Journey of a Lifetime

As enemy warplanes roared overhead and bombs fell on the city of Liège, nearly five-year-old Gilda’s childhood ended with a suitcase, a train ticket, and a mother’s desperate plea to flee. So begins a sweeping true story that spans continents and decades-from a harrowing escape across war-torn Europe to an unexpected new life in sun-drenched Casablanca, and eventually, to the promise of America.

In this rich and moving memoir, Gilda Zirinsky retraces her extraordinary journey as a Jewish child refugee during World War II. Through vivid memories and family history, she recounts scenes of narrow escapes, lost homelands, and acts of courage and compassion-from a French captain who risked his life to save hundreds to a tenacious mother who refused to give up hope.

Told with warmth, humor, and deep humanity, I Went to Kindergarten in Casablanca is more than a tale of survival-it is a celebration of family, love, and the enduring strength of the human spirit.