VOLUME 10 NO 2
Dear Child Survivors of the Holocaust, We hope this newsletter finds you and yours well. I’ve been wondering if you thought, as I did, that after the tough lockdowns last year this year would be somehow easier, less fearful and almost back to normal. It wasn’t to be; here we are again trying to keep up with how many kilometres we can travel? Who can and can’t come to our home and are masks to be worn indoors... outside? Who can remember? And the COVID store check-in App; I see so many people trying to work out if they have “checked” in or not and I wonder if like me they have forgotten what they came out for. In these difficult times it is easy to feel stressed and frustrated, even sorry for ourselves when holiday trips are
JUNE 2021
cancelled, family events abandoned and worse still funerals and weddings are reduced to a handful of guests. At times like this my mind goes back to all the Child survivor stories I have had the privilege of hearing first hand. How could I possibly think for one moment that we are doing it tough; at the very least we are informed each day when this latest situation will possibly end. We know there are experts and others out there who understand what we are going through and they are trying to help as best they can. Child Survivors of the Holocaust are my constant role models and inspiration. I asked some of our members to let us know how they are getting by; I’m not surprised they are all so productive. Sending warm hugs to you all, best regards, Viv & Lena.
From Lena’s Desk Below is a fascinating article about Jewish Genealogy and how it is never too late to delve into your family history. If you require assistance in doing research on your family, I
recommend you contact the Australian Society of Jewish Genealogy of Victoria - admin@ajgs-vic.org.au.
The Holocaust destroyed Jewish families Genealogy can help rebuild them Records from before the Nazis are easier to find than many people realize Last fall, I was part of a family reunion almost 80 years in the making. In the aftermath of World War II, a Jewish toddler was rescued from an orphanage in Poland. Given the name Sarit, the little girl grew up on a kibbutz in Israel without any family. She lived her entire life without ever knowing who she was or where she came from. But before she died, Sarit was given the gift of a commercial DNA test. A distant cousin became invested in trying to use DNA to find Sarit’s birth parents; she reached out to ask if I could assist with the search, since I’m a genealogist with experience doing DNA research. Over the course of more than a year, we worked diligently to untangle the puzzle of Sarit’s identity and reconstruct her family tree. We ultimately learned that Sarit hadn’t been an orphan at all; rather, in the chaos of war she had been separated
from her parents, who survived and searched desperately for her for the rest of their lives. They died in Israel in 1977 and 1995, respectively. And in October, we reunited Sarit’s daughter with her two elderly aunts and many first cousins. This reunion was extraordinarily moving, but it was not quite as rare as it might appear. Over the past few years, I’ve been able to reconnect several families torn apart by the Holocaust. The very first
The Popelaner family of Riga, Latvia, cousins of the author, were all murdered in the Holocaust. (Courtesy of Jennifer Mendelsohn)