Gold Finkler née Eiger-Taub was born in 1903 in Warsaw, Poland. Her father was Rabbi Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, the Admor (Hasidic spiritual leader) from Modzitz. In addition to her studies at the Beit Yaakov girls' school, Golda had private lessons at home in French and literature. Later on, she studied law in Warsaw. The professional exams were held on Shabbat, but in accordance with Golda's request, she walked to the exam location and was tested orally. In 1932 she married Haim-Joseph Finkler, and three years later their daughter, Kaja (Kaila Nechama Devorah) was born.
When World War II broke out, Golda and Kaja were alone in Warsaw. Haim-Joseph was visiting his family in Piotrków and couldn't return due to the battles that were raging. Golda's father, Rabbi Taub, succeeded in leaving Warsaw on 7 September 1939 and in getting seven of his eleven children to Vilna, and from there to Japan and the US. Golda and another three brothers remained since they did not want to leave their families. Golda and Kaja were confined in the ghetto, and lived with relatives in a cramped apartment.
Golda contracted typhus, and in an effort to avoid infecting Kaja, the child was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto to her father in the Piotrków ghetto. Golda joined them later on, but in 1943 she was deported to a labor camp in Skarżysko-Kamienna, and sent from there to the Leipzig-Schoenfeld camp in Germany. Finding a notebook, Golda drew up a calendar for the year 1945. On the backs of ammunition factory registration cards, she wrote the prayers "Adon Olam" and "Bircat Hashahar" and psalm 137, which opens with the words, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered Zion".
In her own unique way, Golda expressed her faith in God in the midst of the dire circumstances in which she found herself. Despite the harsh conditions of the camp, she continued to pray and to give thanks to God.
Haim-Joseph died in Piotrków after being beaten by Germans. Left alone, Kaja was deported to the Ravensbrück camp. She survived despite her young age, and after liberation she was sent to Sweden, where she was reunited with her mother. Golda and Kaja immigrated to the US, where Golda passed away in 1991.
!["Bircat Hashachar" prayer written by Golda on the back of a factory registration card](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/8487_S2.jpg ""Bircat Hashachar" prayer written by Golda on the back of a factory registration card")
!["Adon Olam" prayer written by Golda on the back of a factory registration card](https://www.yadvashem.org/sites/default/files/8487_S3.jpg ""Adon Olam" prayer written by Golda on the back of a factory registration card")
_2.jpg?itok=gYdTa_Sy "The Siddur (Prayer Book) that Gabriele Kohn Received after Liberation")
