Yona Kobo

The Jewish Family and the Holocaust

Of the numerous narratives from the Holocaust told through the collections of Yad Vashem, those that relate how whole families were wiped off the face of the earth by the Nazis and their collaborators in a matter of hours are some of the most gut-wrenching accounts from the period. Indeed, though I have curated many moving online exhibitions  for Yad Vashem's online platforms, the new exhibition entitled "The Onset of Mass Murder: The Fate of Jewish Families in 1941" brought me to tears. The... Continue reading

Redemption: The Orphans Yeshayahu Drucker Returned to the Jewish People

From the moment that WWII ended, Holocaust survivors had to begin to come to terms with the anguish of their newfound reality. Utterly destroyed by years of abuse, starvation, disease and the constant fear of death, the realization that most of them were all alone was the final blow. Yet, they hung onto every last ounce of hope they could muster and tried to locate loved ones displaced and dispersed to the four corner of Europe – and oftentimes even further. Any sign of life or connection was... Continue reading

"One for All": Rescue by Jews during the Holocaust

Throughout the Holocaust, in the shadow of their unprecedented persecution by the German Nazi regime and their collaborators, there were Jews who endeavored to save their fellow Jews – often beyond their immediate family or acquaintances. The conditions for rescue were not always ripe and the attempts were not always successful, but that did not deter these remarkable individuals and groups from trying. Jews saved other Jews through many kinds of activities – forging documents, assisting in... Continue reading