Thank you so much for reading and for the kind words, Sara! Before going to Israel, my heritage wasn't something I had much of an appreciation for. It wasn't until seeing some of these historical sites that the realities of WWII, and how it affected our family, began to feel real. My immediate family wasn't killed in the holocaust, but it completely reshaped our family's trajectory all the same. Our last name was changed twice to avoid antisemitism (although why we ended up on Ulansey, I'm still not totally sure lol.)

I'm so sorry to hear that your family had to flee and hide their faith, too! That's beautiful that you were able to learn about your great grandmother's name and history, even if only posthumously. I'd love to know more about my european roots. There's a lot of our family history that's been lost to time now, also.

Your grandmother sounds like a wise woman. There truly are no winners in war besides the ones profiterring. I really hope for the best in this whole situation. I can't imagine many good solutions, but maybe sanity will prevail in the end. Until then, all we can really do is hope that this loss of life is kept to a minimum. It's been horribly tragic watching all of this unfold. Thanks again for reading, Sara.