The story of Ida Sztamfater is a living testimony to how Holocaust memory and the resilience inherited from her mother shaped a life dedicated to care and solidarity. Her mother, born in Poland, survived by hiding in a barn thanks to the courage of Catholic neighbors who risked their own lives.

The hiding place was near the dog’s kennel, and there, among bones and marrow left from the dog’s food, her mother fought to survive.

Yes — her mother ate bone marrow to stay alive!

After the war, her parents met in a refugee camp in Germany, then moved to Bolivia and later to Brazil, where they rebuilt their lives. Her mother’s family survived intact; her father’s family, only one brother who had emigrated before the war.

These experiences shaped Ida’s home life. Wasting food was a grave offense, financial discipline an unbreakable rule. Her mother never went to sleep without a piece of bread in the house, and education was seen as the one possession no one could take away. Growing up in this environment meant learning resilience and recognizing that........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)