12/06/2024
This is what makes genealogists tick.
Today, on Giving Tuesday, I’m thrilled to share the details of one of the most extraordinary Holocaust mysteries the The Holocaust Reunion Project has ever solved, a case that highlights the power of genetic genealogy. It’s exactly why we do what we do.
Vilunya Diskin is an 83-year-old retired women’s health advocate best known as one of the co-authors of the iconic book "Our Bodies, Ourselves." A Holocaust orphan who had been hidden in a gentile home in Poland during the war and later adopted, for most of her life, Vilunya had only the scantest information about her identity. A possible last name. The fact that she had a twin who had died. And that a nanny whose name had been lost to time had saved her.
Her efforts to find any concrete facts–Who was she? Who were her parents? How had she survived? And who was the woman who had saved her life?--led to dead end after dead end. She had all but given up when a friend suggested she reach out to the Holocaust Reunion Project.
In September of this year, my partner Dr. Adina Newman and I leveraged the power of genetic genealogy to give Vilunya back both her identity and her full story. We found the birth certificates of Vilunya and her twin sister, built her an extensive family tree, and connected her with biological family all over the world, including two shocked second cousins in Israel who were certain that their father was the sole survivor of his family.
And perhaps most incredibly, we found the family of Vilunya's rescuer, who finally provided the story of how she was saved. That woman was not a nanny but rather a close childhood friend of Vilunya’s father to whom he had entrusted his daughter for safekeeping. She hid the little girl in her own home, where she was considered a member of the family. The woman’s son sent Vilunya precious photos of her early years and showed her the faces of both of her parents for the first time. Their correspondence has been beyond life-affirming. Vilunya is in the process of having her rescuer recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations” by Yad Vashem.
“The Holocaust Reunion Project has given me back my origins,” says Vilunya. "Emotionally, I feel like all those holes I never knew I had, a lot of them are filled. It really is life changing.”
This Giving Tuesday, I know you have many worthy projects vying for your attention. But I would so appreciate if you would consider supporting the work of the Holocaust Reunion Project and allow us to keep changing lives by giving survivors like Vilunya the most invaluable gift of all: family. Your support allows us to help more survivors learn who they are, meet family members, and reclaim their shattered family histories.
You can donate via FB here or go to our website.
https://www.facebook.com/donate/606756108678301/
(The Project’s financial activity operates through Players Philanthropy Fund, a fiscal sponsor recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3); all donations to the Holocaust Reunion Project qualify as tax deductible.)
Thank you!
