Sara Shimonovitz — Association of Jews of Vilna and vicinity in Israel

My mother and I were the only members of our entire family in Vilnius who survived. My mother jumped in the dark of the night from a train that led to an extermination camp, and I managed to escape from a labor camp near Riga. I do not know if these saved us, since the escape was a threat of death in itself. But my mother's act was courageous. In her decision: "I will not die but live" - and jumped.

My mother returned to the liberated Vilna in 1944 and immediately began exploring and searching for me. She gathered every clue, every knowledge and rumor from people returning from the camps, until she reached Riga, to people who helped me hide for a while. They did not know where I had gone so she had no choice but to leave her photo with them. I, on my way, came all the way to northern Latvia and was released in a small town in Corland, on May 9, 1945. When I returned to Riga a few months later to the people who gave me a hiding place, I found her photo that she left especially for me ... and again I had a mother. We arrived in Israel in 1949 and as soon as we had a more or less reasonable residence my mother began writing her memoirs. To this day I see her sitting nights and days, writing and correcting and printing and writing again. Stubbornly and persistence.For decades, this manuscript has not been published. Only one copy was sent to Yad Vashem and several sections were printed in a Yiddish newspaper abroad. After her passing, I decided to publish my mother's memoir, to commemorate her noble character and special personality. Her words reflect the tragedy of the Jewish people from her personal point of view. She wrote this for both herself and her family and future generations in her family. It can also be seen as another important stone in memory of the Jewish Vilna that was destroyed and is no longer as it was. My thanks are due to those who helped me with my mission and especially to Mr. Nathan Livneh who initiated, translated and edited and accompanied me throughout, to Mr. Joseph Vishnya for the darwing on the book cover painting who did it with great understanding and to the Association of Jews from Vilna and Vicinity in Israel, for sponsoring the book.

Written by Ziota Averbuch-Shimonovitz