However many history books you read, nothing can prepare you for the physical and emotional impact of a tour of Holocaust sites in Poland. It is an awesome, humbling experience in which you struggle to understand the incomprehensible, to witness that which cannot be visualized and above all, to remember that which must not be forgotten.
…Sara Pellach derives much support and comfort from her students as she relives the story of her own parents, who survived Majdaneck and Auschwitz to finally meet and marry in Bergen Belsen.
“This is my “schlichut” (mission) – to pass on the message to future generations – but is also helps me deal with my own traumas. When I stand in my father’s courtyard in Krakow, week after week with different groups and I point out his third floor bedroom window, I feel a sense of revenge and victory. I need to tell his story to others, so that the events of the Shoah will never be forgotten.”……
*Jerusalem Post, 3.3.00, Lydia Weitzman
Excerpts from Pilgrimage to Poland
……“Why are you making this pilgrimage?”, our guide Sara Pellach asked as we introduced ourselves the first evening. Some were searching for their roots – and found them. Phil, aged 90, was overwhelmed when taken by his daughter to visit the house in Warsaw where he once lived. Paul traced his parents’ home in Radom and Suzy located her mother’s birth certificate……
Sara’s warmth, sensitivity and dedication made her the perfect guide. This time, she was joined by our Rabbi, whose knowledge, lectures and anecdotes added an extra dimension…..
