Ewa Harley was born in 1947 in Warsaw, the daughter of Mieczysław Harley and Teresa née Weksler. Ewa Harley's parents survived the war in the USSR, and after its end they settled in Warsaw. Ewa Harley's father worked in the Ministry of Culture, then served as director and secretary general of the F. Chopin Society, and her mother worked as a translator. Ewa Harley was raised in a secular spirit, but under the influence of her aunt, a convert, some Catholic holidays were celebrated in the family. It was not until she was 12 that Ewa Harley found out she was Jewish. Before leaving Poland, Ewa Harley studied at the State High School of Theatre Techniques, and after graduating she began studies in Łódź. She also worked as a model and a film extra. In 1968, Ewa Harley's brother, Edward, was fired from his job at Polish Radio Program III and harassed for his participation in student protests at the University of Warsaw. That same year, he left for the United States. A year after his departure, Ewa Harley decided to emigrate, leaving Poland in the summer of 1969. After arriving in the United States, Ewa Harley initially worked in various positions, but soon began working as a costume designer and pattern stylist. She first visited Poland in 1985 and has traveled there many times since. She currently has an apartment in Warsaw. For 25 years, she has been involved in organizing meetings of "March" emigrants in Israel. INTERVIEWEE’S NAME: Ewa Harley INTERVIEW BY: Joanna Król, Elizabeth Mostowski RECORDING: Przemysław Jaczewski DATE OF RECORDING: August 17, 2015 COPYRIGHT: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews MAIN THEMES: 00:00:04 – Family, childhood, fate of parents and relatives during the war. 00:08:35 – Growing up in Warsaw, the Jewish community in post-war Warsaw, celebrating Catholic holidays, converts to Catholicism in the family. 00:12:18 – Father’s cultural and political activities. 00:15:27 – Life in Warsaw, parents’ divorce, school, visits from people of culture and art to the family home. 00:19:37 – School environment, studies, acting and modeling. English: 00:23:36 – Discovering Jewish origins, contact with the TSKŻ environment, contacts with family abroad. 00:28:50 – Father's party membership, father's death, contact with anti-Semitism. 00:32:43 – March '68, student rallies in Łódź, brother's involvement in the protests and his departure for the United States. 00:38:04 – Decision to leave for the United States. 00:43:05 – Preparations for departure, Gdański Station, support of friends and acquaintances, feeling of being Polish. 00:52:26 – Beginnings of life in the United States, first jobs and work in my profession. 01:02:05 – Contacts with Poland after emigration, son's family, grandchildren's baptism, contacts with acquaintances. 01:10:42 – The environment of the “March” emigrants, the emigrants’ meeting in Israel, identity and patriotism, religiosity, celebrating Catholic and Jewish holidays. 01:20:36 – Longing for Poland, holidays in Poland, surname, fate of mother and brother in the United States, various threads concerning origin and family history. Discover the POLIN Museum’s oral history collection: https://sztetl.org.pl/pl/historia-mow... Subscribe to our channel: / @historiamowionapolin Watch the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews channels: POLIN (announcements and reports from events at the Museum): / mhzp2013 Virtual Shtetl (history and culture of Polish Jews): / virtualshtetl Polish Righteous (stories of help provided to Jews during the Holocaust): / polscysprawiedliwi Contact regarding sharing the interview: [email protected] #historiapowiedziona #muzeumpolin #marzec68