My paternal grandmother, Kreindel Graff Rosenberg was born in Ulanow, Poland in 1892. She was the second of eight children, four boys and four girls. Her father, Raphael Graff, was also born in Ulanow. Her mother, Sura Ita Beer Graff was from the town of Oleszyce, Poland.

It took me decades to compile those facts.

Growing up, my Holocaust survivor relatives were either vague or chose not to remember their family history. Later, as they grew older, they were more willing to share their memories but it was too late. I had moved away and was busy building my own life.

Last Friday, 10 Adar was the fiftieth anniversary of my grandmother’s death.

I lit a candle in her memory and said kaddish.

I had never done either for her before.

But having a daughter in a Tel Aviv bomb shelter moves the needle.

Kreindel by all accounts was an extraordinary woman.

She was tall, blonde, green-eyed, self-supporting, intelligent, observant and possessor of a........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)