Echoes of Memory

My Uncle Zigmund

I didn’t see it as a young person, but I do see it now that my uncle was a broken man, who lost his life achievements and his place at the age of 42, and never really regained them.

Some Reminiscences About Weddings in Israel

Israel was born in 1948 and besides roads and houses for immigrants, a new industry sprang up.

The Girl from Yugoslavia

That’s how my classmates from Israel remember me. And I like it. It’s like giving me an endearing nickname. Because I loved Yugoslavia.

My Son Dov

A Trip to a Dream Beach, 1951

My mother pined for the Adriatic Sea. Everything in that sea was so much better than the sea off the coast of Tel Aviv.

Where I Feel Best

After I survived the Holocaust in Poland, my mother, father, sister, and I moved to England, where we were generously accepted as we tried to move past the terrible years of World War II. We were among the few lucky ones who survived. So many did not. According to statistics, only about 2 percent of Polish Jews lived through the Holocaust.

The Choices We Make, Part I

There have been many moments in my adult life when I have had to make a decision. Sometimes, I had to choose one option from a list of many. Sometimes, I had only two bad options. And, rarely, I had two good ones.

A Blissful Event

The year was 1963, and I was serving in the Israeli air force. I worked as a programmer on that famous huge Philco computer that filled a whole floor.

My Community

There are many places I have lived in since 1939, when I was thrown out of my house and first had to relocate. This was in Poland and my mother, sister, and I were trying desperately to survive under the Soviet, and then German occupation. My community at that time were the other frightened people who were also trying to find a safe place. After the Germans occupied us, being Jewish, we had only one destination and that was a concentration camp and death.

Home

The places I am longing to see again. There is a different longing for a place you know—to be able to visit any time you decide to. The longing is even greater when you know for sure you're not to see that place again. The reason is the danger of flying while having three stents in my heart with instructions not to get on a plane again.