An incredible reunion brings tearful closure to Holocaust survivor
令人難以置信的重聚為大屠殺生還者帶來了含淚的結局
Published on: 28.8.2023

By Yudit Setz & Shay Dror

An unexpected visit to the Haifa Home recently brought a long-awaited closure to 95-year-old resident Sarah Zamir. What follows is a story of kindness, survival, and an unlikely reunion.

Born as Ilse Böhm, Sarah grew up in a religious Jewish family near Breslau, in Silesia. In 1939, the family fled the Nazi regime for Belgium in hopes of a safer life; however, deportations of Belgium’s Jews soon began. Sarah’s family were sent to concentration camps, never to return. But 14-year-old Sarah was hidden by a kind Catholic couple from Antwerp.

“They were not just good people”, Sarah recalled, “they were like angels.”
Postcard

Sarah’s incredible reunion came about due to the work of Charlie Knight, a British historian of German Jewish refugees of the 1930s and 40s. Through his research, Charlie found letters dated 1939-1940 hidden in an archive. These letters were sent back and forth from Sarah’s father, Ernst Böhm, and his cousin. Among them, Charlie found a postcard written by Ernst’s daughter, Ilse, whose fate was not initially clear. Further research revealed that she had survived, immigrated to Israel, and was now named Sarah Zamir.

Upon seeing Sarah featured in an ICEJ-Germany video posted on social media, Charlie contacted the Christian Embassy, and soon enough the two met at the Home in Haifa, where Sarah told Charlie in detail about her rescuers. The information Sarah provided prompted new research by Charlie – finding the Catholic couple that saved Sarah’s life.

The couple’s great-grandson Vince heard about Ilse from his grandfather, who was her age and lived alongside her in his parents’ home. As he grew older, the grandfather expressed hope that Ilse had lived a long, healthy life. Upon hearing about Sarah, Vince decided to come to Israel to meet her!
From left to right: Vince, the great-grandson from Belgium, Sarah’s daughter, Sarah and her two grandchildren.

Sarah could hardly believe it was happening! Her own granddaughter was there for the reunion and said: “It was touching beyond words and an honour to meet the family that saved my grandma.”

“We were overcome by emotion”, recounted Vince. “The first thing we did when we met was just cry. But then it became natural, and we talked as if we had known each other forever.”

Vince and Sarah promised to write to one another. He would send photos of the house where she was hidden as a girl, sheltered from the fate that met millions of Jews less fortunate than her. It was a completely heart-warming encounter that proves compassion conquers fear.

令人難以置信的重聚為大屠殺生還者帶來了含淚的結局
發佈於：2023年8月28日

作者：尤迪特·塞茨和謝伊·德羅爾

最近，95 歲的居民莎拉·扎米爾 (Sarah Zamir) 意外造訪海法之家，結束了習慣已久的生活。 接下來是一個關於善良、生存和不太可能重聚的故事。

莎拉出生時原名伊爾斯·伯姆，在西里西亞布雷斯勞附近的一個宗教猶太家庭長大。1939 年，一家人逃離納粹政權前往比利時，希望過上更安全的生活。 然而，比利時猶太人的驅逐行動很快就開始了。 莎拉的家人被送往集中營，再也沒有回來。 但 14 歲的莎拉被一對來自安特衛普的善良天主教夫婦藏了起來。

“他們不僅僅是好人，”莎拉回憶道，“他們就像天使一樣。”
明信片

薩拉令人難以置信的重聚歸功於查理·奈特（Charlie Knight）的工作，他是一位研究 20 世紀 30 年代和 40 年代德國猶太難民的英國歷史學家。 通過研究，查理在檔案中發現了 1939 年至 1940 年的信件。 這些信件是莎拉的父親恩斯特·伯姆和他的表弟來回發送的。 其中，查理髮現了一張恩斯特的女兒伊爾莎寫的明信片，她的命運最初並不清楚。 進一步的研究表明她倖存下來並移民到以色列，現在被命名為莎拉·扎米爾。

在看到莎拉出現在社交媒體上發布的ICEJ-德國視頻中後，查理聯繫了耶路撒冷國際基督徒大使館，很快兩人就在海法的家中見面，莎拉在那裡向查理詳細講述了她的救援人員。莎拉提供的信息促使查理進行了新的研究——找到了拯救莎拉生命的天主教夫婦。

這對夫婦的曾孫文斯從他的祖父那裡聽說了伊爾莎，他的祖父與她同齡，和她一起住在他父母的家裡。 隨著年齡的增長，祖父表示希望伊爾莎能夠健康長壽。聽說莎拉的事後，文斯決定來以色列見她！

從左到右：來自比利時的曾孫文斯、莎拉的女兒、莎拉和她的兩個孫子。

莎拉簡直不敢相信這一切正在發生！ 她自己的孫女也出席了這次團聚，她說：“能夠見到拯救我祖母的家人，我感到難以言表的感動和榮幸。”

“我們情緒激動”，文斯回憶道。 “我們見面時做的第一件事就是哭。 但後來一切就變得很自然了，我們說話就好像我們已經認識很久了一樣。”

文斯和莎拉答應互相寫信。 他會寄給她小時候藏身的房子的照片，避免遭受數百萬比她不幸的猶太人的命運。 這是一次完全溫暖人心的相遇，證明同情心戰勝了恐懼。