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Discovering Pieces of the Family Story

By Third Generation Storykeeper Yonat Assayag Bobby never wanted to talk about her experiences during the Holocaust. But occasionally, when we asked, she would talk to her grandkids. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with her…
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Finding The Catholic Family Who Hid Ellen

by Second Generation Storykeeper Ellen Kaidanow Shifra-Marusia changed her name to Ellen when she emigrated to the United States after the war. This Slice is about her return to Dubno, Ukraine for the first time since the war with her…
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Growing Up Hunting Nazis

by Second Generation Storykeeper Debby Ziering Herman joined forces with Elliot Welles to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. Elliot was also a survivor of the Riga Ghetto whose mother was shot by Maikovskis.  Herman was determined to have…
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Why Are You Just Sitting There? Run!

by Second Generation Storykeeper Ellen Kaidanow Our names are a foundational connection to identity and family. In this Slice, Ellen tells her mother-in-law's journey into hiding during the Holocaust which included changing her name from…
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Wartime Bar Mitzvah

by Second Generation Storykeeper Debby Ziering It was December 1939 in Germany and Herman, was turning 13. Under normal circumstances, when a boy reaches the age of 13, the family would be busy planning a bar mitzvah, a major milestone in a…
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Prewar Life in Strobochova

by Third Generation Storykeeper Yonat Assayag My grandmother, Chana, was born in 1924 in a Czechoslovakian village called Strobochova. She became “Bobby” when I was born, and she became a grandmother for the first time. Bobby’s parents…
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She Named Her Daughter Chaya “Life”

By Third Generation Storykeeper Yonat Assayag Bobby knew her mom, sisters and grandmother were all killed. But she hadn’t seen Joe since he slipped her those sweaters that first day in Auschwitz. She also had no idea what happened to her…
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“I am Herman Israel Ziering”

by Second Generation Storykeeper Debby Ziering My dad, Herman was born in 1926 in Kassel Germany. He was the oldest of two sons born to Isaac and Cilly; his brother “Sigi” was two years younger than him. Herman called his parents Pop…
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Kid in a Candy Store

by Second Generation Storykeeper Ellen Kaidanow My mother-in-law was born Shifra Leviatin in Dubno, Poland on an uncertain date in June. Her birth date is an educated guess, gleaned from memories of the few relatives who made it through the…