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  5. Address on Behalf of the Survivors, by Zipora Granat

Address on Behalf of the Survivors, by Zipora Granat

State Opening Ceremony of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day ‏2019

I, Zipora Granat née Gerschenfisch, 87 years old, stand here before you filled with longing for my parents, who were murdered in Auschwitz.  

Perhaps it's strange to think that at my age I still miss my father and mother, but that is really the essence of my Holocaust story.

Before the war, I was part of a happy family living in France – Mother, Father and four children; I was the eldest.  I grew up in a house filled with warmth and love.  We didn't own much, but it was a cosy, Jewish home. The memory of my father blessing me under his tallit (prayer shawl) on Yom Kippur is one that has stayed with me to this day.

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Zipora Granat gives the address on behalf of the survivors at the opening ceremony of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day

Zipora Granat gives the address on behalf of the survivors at the opening ceremony of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day

When the Germans entered my home town of Belfort in 1940, the world as I knew it began to fall apart.  July 1942 was the last time we were a family.  That was when my mother was imprisoned, and I never saw her again.

Her last request of me was to take care of Father's shirts, and to make sure I always laid the Shabbat table with a white cloth. 

I endured the tribulations of war with some of my siblings, and at the war's end, I discovered, to my horror, that all hope was lost. Both my parents and my 4-year-old brother had been murdered.

From the depths of hell, I found the strength to hold my ground against pressure from my dear relatives, who wanted me to make my home in Canada.  I succeeded, and we immigrated to Eretz Israel.  I knew that this was my only home. 

I still remember the feeling of peace that descended on me when the boat I sailed on entered the waters of Haifa port, and I stood on the deck, looking wide-eyed at the Carmel. 

Thanks to the Youth Aliya, I graduated from Mikve Israel, I joined the Navy, and I slowly acquired a circle of friends, former members of Bnei Akiva.  Through them, I met my husband, also an observant Jew, and we got married and raised a united, close-knit and independent family.  Our three children served in the IDF, and continue to contribute to the State, building a next generation to be proud of.

Like a tree whose roots are entrenched deep in the ground – the education, warmth and love I received at home – so its branches soar upwards, towards the future and the hope embodied in my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Once again, I say to my children – I am proud of those born in Israel, the Sabras, but I was privileged to immigrate to Eretz Israel, to make Aliyah.  I realized my dream, and as a teacher here in Israel, I raised generations of pupils, and built a home and a family.

Despite the yearning and the pain, I made the decision to face forward, towards the future.