A discovery and the bomb that was dropped on my heart....

In doing geneology, I realized, duh, that my great-grandpa came over here without all of his family from Austria-Hungary.  In fact when he came, he left behind brothers Nicholas, Soloman and possibly Elizabeth Klein.  I don't know if/or they were baptized in 1902 or not.  They remained in what is now the Serbia-Croatia area and many were from small towns in the area.   So one day about 2-3 weeks ago, I started adding 2+2 and got 4.

My grandmother had and article found in her apartment after she died, it was the Nuremberg trials with names of Nazi war criminals circled, my dad actually went to visit one of the camps when he was stationed in Germany after the war and described some of it to me, and he would watch endless documentaries on the Holocaust,  my grandmother's brother went back to the village (it was Yugoslavia by then with the border changes) and found the cemetery of the village had been blown up by the in the war.  However, no one had ever volunteered the idea that anyone could have perished in the Holocaust. 

Strangely, I had a patient, named-Mr. Mensch (no I am not kidding that is his name) yesterday.  He mentioned reading "Children of the Holocaust" by Helen Epstein to me.  I have already ordered it.  He is a Jewish psychologist and child of a Holocaust survivor.  He said it is not unusual for families to cover it up in this way.  I feel horrified, a little bit crazy, and very, very sad that some of my relatives may have been victims.  Even if they weren't...we can only hope, all Holocaust victims of any culture should be remembered.

Part of me wants to keep searching, part of me wants to keep hoping it isn't true.  It certainly makes this sudden drive to be Jewish even more important.

I have enclosed today the Mourner's Kaddish:  I am aware you need a minyan for that, but it is the internet and I don't think we should have to wait until Shoa Remembrance day (It is held on the 27 Nisan (April/May). In other countries there are different commemorative days – see Holocaust Memorial Day:

May the world pray for peace on this Sabbath night,

Kathy

8th of Tevet, 5770 / ח׳ בטבת תש״ע