The Holocaust Memorial
When I was a child, I thought my Grandma was the old lady who visited and had Shabbat dinner with us. I loved her for she was very kind. Then my friend said to me “that's not your grandma”, and so I learned I did not have a grandma and I began to call her Mrs. Karp.

When I asked my parents why I didn't have any grandparents, they answered, “They died.”

Monument to Jewish victims of Divin

I always yearned for an extended family. Not until I was about 13, did I learn the truth. I accidentally wandered past the television while my parents were watching a documentary of the Holocaust. I froze as the horror and the truth penetrated my consciousness. My parents never discussed what happened and my ache for a family and for a connection to the past remained with me.

Memorial at massacre site

Finally, I am here in Divin with my two sons. Finally, I can pay my respects to these relatives that I long to know. Finally, the empty places in my heart are being filled. We light a Yarzeit candle, we say Kaddish.

The mound over Jewish remains

 I imagine them standing at the pit, in terror.

Walking around the Mound

We walk on the soil above their remains. I dig my fingernails into the soil and gather it in a bag. I think that their essence is in the soil. I search for rocks. I kiss the ground and feel a love for my lost family.

 

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Page Last Updated: 28-Oct-2010