U.S. Story Post, 18601 Airport Way, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, CA (2026)

09/08/2026

GUSTA WAHRHAFTIG WAS BORN IN THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, ON OCTOBER 31, 1940. SHE WAS OF JEWISH DESCENT, THE DAUGHTER OF ROSA AND ZACHARJA, AND HAD THREE OLDER SIBLINGS. THE FAMILY RESIDED AT VAN LIMBURG STIRUMSTRAAT 74 IN THE HAGUE. HER PARENTS WERE IMMIGRANTS, AND THE FAMILY FACED FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES, SHARING THEIR HOME WITH SEVERAL BOARDERS.

IN APPROXIMATELY 1942, GUSTA'S FATHER BECAME GRAVELY ILL. UNABLE TO SUPPORT THE FAMILY, GUSTA'S MOTHER STRUGGLED DURING THESE CHALLENGING TIMES. FEELING OVERWHELMED, SHE DECIDED TO SEND GUSTA TO A JEWISH ORPHANAGE.

GUSTA'S EXPERIENCE AT THE ORPHANAGE WAS LIKELY A RELATIVELY JOYFUL ONE. SHE HAD NUMEROUS PLAYMATES, ENJOYED REGULAR VISITS FROM HER PARENTS, AND HAD ACCESS TO MANY GAMES. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS PERIOD OF HAPPINESS WAS SHORT-LIVED. ON MARCH 17, 1943, THE ORPHANAGE WAS RAIDED, AND THE CHILDREN WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. THEY WERE TRANSPORTED TO WESTERBORK, WHERE GUSTA WAS REUNITED WITH HER FAMILY, WHO WERE ALSO PRESENT THERE.

IN LATE APRIL, THEY FACED THEIR FINAL DEPORTATION. GUSTA, ALONG WITH HER PARENTS AND SIBLINGS, WAS SENT TO SOBIBÓR, ARRIVING ON APRIL 30. TRAGICALLY, THEY WERE ALL MURDERED IMMEDIATELY IN THE GAS CHAMBER. GUSTA WAS MERELY TWO YEARS OLD. MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING.

REMEMBER GUSTA WAHRHAFTIG.

09/08/2026

YURI DRINGLER WAS BORN IN 1936 IN PAPA, VEZSPREM, HUNGARY. HE WAS OF JEWISH DESCENT, THE SON OF IENO AND YOLAN DRINGLER. AT THE TENDER AGE OF EIGHT, THE N***S INVADED HUNGARY. ON JUNE 8, 1944, THAT SUMMER, HE AND HIS PARENTS WERE DEPORTED TO THE AUSCHWITZ EXTERMINATION CAMP. TRAGICALLY, ALL THREE WERE KILLED UPON THEIR ARRIVAL. MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A SOURCE OF BLESSING.

HONOR YURI DRINGLER.

09/08/2026

RUT "RUTKA" LASKIER WAS BORN ON JUNE 12, 1929. SHE WAS OF JEWISH DESCENT, THE DAUGHTER OF YAACOV AND DWORJA LASKIER, AND THE ELDER SISTER OF HENIUS LASKIER. RUTKA WAS BORN IN KRAKOW, POLAND.

AT A YOUNG AGE, SHE RELOCATED TO BEDZIN, POLAND. IN 1939, HER HOMETOWN WAS INVADED BY THE N***S, FORCING HER TO MATURE RAPIDLY. SHE EXHIBITED REMARKABLE MATURITY FOR HER AGE AND HAD A PREMONITION OF HER IMPENDING DEATH.

IN JANUARY 1943, SHE COMMENCED WRITING IN A JOURNAL, WHICH CHRONICLED HER EXPERIENCES UNTIL APRIL, WHEN IT ABRUPTLY CONCLUDED. WITHIN HER JOURNAL, SHE EXPRESSED HER THOUGHTS ON FRIENDSHIPS, ROMANTIC INTERESTS, AND HER TRANSITION INTO WOMANHOOD. CONVERSELY, SHE ALSO RECOUNTED THE HORRIFIC ATROCITIES SHE WITNESSED IN THE BEDZIN GHETTO. THE GRAPHIC NATURE OF THESE EVENTS IS TOO DISTRESSING TO DETAIL HERE; PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WISH TO LEARN MORE.

RUTKA WAS A WOMAN OF GREAT SERIOUSNESS. HER FRIEND STANISLAWA, A CHRISTIAN WHO SURVIVED THE WAR, BELIEVED THAT RUTKA MAY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE BEDZIN RESISTANCE.

IN AUGUST 1943, THE BEDZIN UPRISING COMMENCED, DURING WHICH RUTKA, ALONG WITH HER PARENTS AND BROTHER HENIUS, WAS DEPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ. TRAGICALLY, HENIUS AND DWORJA WERE IMMEDIATELY SENT TO THE GAS CHAMBERS AND KILLED.

RUTKA WAS SEPARATED FROM HER FATHER AND TAKEN TO THE WOMEN’S BARRACKS, WHERE SHE WAS ENSLAVED UNTIL DECEMBER 1943. AT THAT POINT, SHE WAS ON THE BRINK OF DEATH, SUFFERING FROM STARVATION AND ILLNESS, DEVOID OF HOPE.

A MERCILESS SS OFFICER OBSERVED RUTKA’S PLIGHT AND COMPELLED ANOTHER INMATE TO PLACE THE AILING RUTKA IN A WHEELBARROW AND TRANSPORT HER TO THE CREMATORIUM TO BE BURNED ALIVE.

RUTKA PLEADED TO BE TAKEN TO THE ELECTRIC FENCE FOR A SWIFTER DEMISE. THE OFFICER TRAILING CLOSELY BEHIND DENIED HER REQUEST. AT THE TENDER AGE OF FOURTEEN, RUTKA WAS BURNED ALIVE.

SUCH A DREADFUL FATE. NO JUSTIFICATION, NO COMMAND. RUTKA’S EXISTENCE WAS UTTERLY SHATTERED SOLELY DUE TO HATRED. TODAY, LET US HONOR HER AND ALL THAT SHE ENDURED.

WISHING YOU A HAPPY HEAVENLY BIRTHDAY, RUTKA.
REMEMBER RUTKA LASKIER.

09/08/2026

ZOFIA RIEDEL WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 20, 1928. SHE WAS A CATHOLIC AND THE SECOND DAUGHTER OF FELIX AND JULIA RIEDEL, HAILING FROM WARSAW, POLAND.

ZOFIA LED A TYPICAL LIFE, ATTENDING SCHOOL AND ENJOYING THE COMPANY OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY, MUCH LIKE ANY CHILD TODAY. HER EDUCATION CONTINUED EVEN AFTER THE N***S INVADED POLAND. DURING THIS TUMULTUOUS PERIOD, HER OLDER SISTER, ALINA, WAS ENROLLED IN NURSING SCHOOL, AND THEIR MOTHER ALSO WORKED AS A NURSE. THIS ENVIRONMENT INSPIRED ZOFIA TO PURSUE A CAREER IN NURSING HERSELF.

IN 1943, THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING WAS BRUTALLY SUPPRESSED, BUT IT WAS NOT THE FINAL UPRISING IN WARSAW'S HISTORY. THE WARSAW UPRISING COMMENCED IN AUGUST 1944, WITH THE RESIDENTS OF WARSAW, INCLUDING ZOFIA'S FAMILY, RISING AGAINST THE N**I OCCUPIERS. DESPITE BEING ONLY FIFTEEN YEARS OLD, ZOFIA WAS EAGER TO CONTRIBUTE. AMIDST THE CHAOS OF THE UPRISING, SHE VOLUNTEERED AT ST. LAZARUS HOSPITAL TO ASSIST THE INJURED.

ON AUGUST 5, 1944, THE GERMANS LAUNCHED AN ASSAULT ON THE HOSPITAL, RESULTING IN THE MASSACRE OF 1,200 PATIENTS AND STAFF OF ALL AGES, MANY OF WHOM SUFFERED HORRIFIC FATES BEFORE THEIR DEATHS. TRAGICALLY, ZOFIA WAS AMONG THOSE WHO PERISHED. THE HOSPITAL WAS SUBSEQUENTLY SET ABLAZE, LEADING TO THE AGONIZING DEATHS OF ANY WOUNDED INDIVIDUALS STILL ALIVE INSIDE.

ZOFIA'S SISTER RECALLED HER FONDLY: "A BRIGHT BLONDE WITH GRAY EYES, A PLEASANT APPEARANCE, AND BRAIDS THAT SHE FASHIONED INTO A CROWN. INTELLIGENT, PERCEPTIVE, AND HIGHLY RESPONSIBLE, SHE SEEMED TO POSSESS A MATURITY BEYOND HER YEARS DESPITE HER CHEERFUL DEMEANOR. SHE HAD A TALENT FOR COOKING AND THE QUALITIES OF AN EXCELLENT HOUSEKEEPER. (...) A NURSE BY VOCATION, BY SPIRIT, AND BY NATURE - SHE ENVIED MY CAPS AND APRON (AS I WAS THEN IN NURSING SCHOOL), AND QUIETLY TOOK MY APRON TO THE UPRISING, WHERE SHE ULTIMATELY MET HER FATE..."

BOTH OF ZOFIA'S PARENTS WERE CAPTURED AND MURDERED DURING THE UPRISING, LEAVING ONLY ALINA AS THE SOLE SURVIVOR. THE UPRISING RESULTED IN THE DEATHS OF 50,000 POLISH CIVILIANS, AN EVENT THAT WOULD BE REMEMBERED AS THE WOLA MASSACRE. SHOCKINGLY, NO ONE WAS EVER HELD ACCOUNTABLE IN COURT FOR THESE HEINOUS ACTS.

RECALL ZOFIA RIEDEL.

09/08/2026

MARGOT BETTI FRANK WAS BORN ON FEBRUARY 16, 1926, IN FRANKFURT, GERMANY, TO HER PARENTS EDITH AND OTTO. SHE HAD A SISTER NAMED ANNE, AND HER FAMILY PRACTICED REFORM JUDAISM. IN 1933, THEY EMIGRATED TO AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, WHERE THEY RESIDED AT MERWEDEPLEIN 37 II.

MARGOT ADAPTED SWIFTLY TO HER NEW LIFE IN THE NETHERLANDS, QUICKLY MASTERING THE LANGUAGE AND FORMING NUMEROUS FRIENDSHIPS. SHE EXCELLED ACADEMICALLY AND HAD A PASSION FOR SPORTS, ESPECIALLY TENNIS AND ROWING. HOWEVER, IN 1940, THE N***S INVADED THE NETHERLANDS.

BY 1942, THE SITUATION HAD DETERIORATED CONSIDERABLY. THE MOST ALARMING EVENT OCCURRED IN JULY OF THAT YEAR WHEN MARGOT RECEIVED A CALL-UP NOTICE FROM THE SS, INSTRUCTING HER TO LEAVE HER HOME FOR THE “EAST.” FEARING THE IMPLICATIONS OF DEPORTATION, THE FRANK FAMILY DECIDED TO GO INTO HIDING.

THEY WERE CONCEALED IN A SECRET ANNEX OF HER FATHER'S FORMER BUSINESS, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF MIEP AND JAN GIES, BEP AND JOHAN VOSKUIJL, VICTOR KUGLER, AND JOHANNES KLEIMAN. FOR TWO YEARS, MARGOT AND HER FAMILY REMAINED HIDDEN, ALONG WITH ANOTHER FAMILY AND A SINGLE MAN. DURING THIS TIME, MARGOT WAS DEPRIVED OF FRESH AIR AND SUNLIGHT. HER SISTER'S DIARY PROVIDES A POIGNANT ACCOUNT OF THEIR EXPERIENCES IN HIDING.

ON AUGUST 4, 1944, THEIR LOCATION WAS BETRAYED TO THE GESTAPO. THE HIDING PLACE WAS RAIDED, AND ALL EIGHT JEWS WERE CAPTURED AND SENT TO WESTERBORK, THEN TO AUSCHWITZ. THEY SURVIVED THE INITIAL SELECTION PROCESS. MARGOT AND ANNE REMAINED AT AUSCHWITZ UNTIL THEY WERE TRANSPORTED TO BERGEN-BELSEN IN GERMANY, WHERE THEIR MOTHER TRAGICALLY SUCCUMBED TO STARVATION SHORTLY AFTER BEING SEPARATED FROM HER DAUGHTERS.

IN BERGEN-BELSEN, BOTH GIRLS CONTRACTED TYPHUS. MARGOT SUCCUMBED FIRST, LIKELY IN FEBRUARY, FOLLOWED BY ANNE JUST A FEW DAYS LATER. IT REMAINS UNCERTAIN WHETHER MARGOT LIVED TO SEE HER NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY. MAY HER MEMORY BE A SOURCE OF BLESSING.

A FRIEND RECALLED MARGOT: "I ADMIRED MARGOT’S QUIET GRACE AND POISE. I ASPIRED TO BE LIKE MARGOT: INTELLIGENT, BEAUTIFUL, AND KIND-HEARTED. I ALSO APPRECIATED HER PROTECTIVE NATURE TOWARDS ANNE. I TOLD MYSELF THAT IF I EVER BECAME A BIG SISTER, I WOULD WANT TO EMULATE MARGOT."

REMEMBER MARGOT FRANK.

09/08/2026

IOSEF TABAC WAS BORN IN 1930 IN BISTRA, MARAMUREȘ, ROMANIA. HE WAS THE OFFSPRING OF ORTHODOX JEWISH PARENTS, TZVI AND TZPIRA TABAC. HE HAD A SISTER NAMED ESTER. REGRETTABLY, LITTLE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE REGARDING HIS LIFE. ON APRIL 15, 1944, HE AND HIS FAMILY WERE FORCIBLY TAKEN TO THE AUSCHWITZ DEATH CAMP. UPON THEIR ARRIVAL, HE AND HIS PARENTS WERE TRAGICALLY MURDERED IN THE GAS CHAMBERS. HIS SISTER MANAGED TO SURVIVE THE WAR. IOSEF WAS MERELY FOURTEEN YEARS OLD. MAY HIS MEMORY BE A BLESSING.

OVER 38,000 JEWS FROM MARAMUREȘ ALONE WERE KILLED DURING THE HOLOCAUST.

REMEMBER IOSEF TABAC.

09/08/2026

ESTER KOBRIN WAS BORN IN 1936 IN DAUGAVPILS, LATVIA.
ESTER WAS OF JEWISH DESCENT, THE DAUGHTER OF SONYA AND IOSIF KOBRIN.
SHE SPENT HER ENTIRE LIFE IN DAUGAVPILS.
AT THE AGE OF FOUR, HER CITY FELL UNDER SOVIET OCCUPATION.
BY 1941, JUST A YEAR LATER, THE N***S INVADED AND TOOK CONTROL.
THEY QUICKLY ESTABLISHED THE DAUGAVPILS GHETTO.
DURING THIS PERIOD, SEVERAL MASSACRES OF JEWS TOOK PLACE AS WELL.
BY 1943, THE GHETTO WAS “LIQUIDATED,” RESULTING IN THE MURDER OF ALL REMAINING JEWS.
ESTER WAS KILLED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES SOMETIME BETWEEN 1941 AND 1943.
THE MAXIMUM AGE SHE COULD HAVE REACHED WAS SEVEN YEARS.
MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING.

REMEMBER ESTER KOBRIN.

09/08/2026

THOMAS GROSS WAS BORN ON APRIL 24, 1936. HE WAS OF JEWISH DESCENT, THE SON OF FRANTISEK AND BETINA GROSS. HIS BIRTHPLACE WAS PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA. LIMITED INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE REGARDING HIS LIFE. HE RESIDED AT JEČNÁ 24, PRAGUE II, FROM HIS BIRTH UNTIL NOVEMBER 7, 1943. ON THAT DATE, HE AND HIS FAMILY WERE DEPORTED TO THE TEREZÍN GHETTO. THEY REMAINED IN TEREZÍN UNTIL SEPTEMBER 6, 1944, WHEN THEY WERE DEPORTED ONCE MORE. THEY WERE ON TRANSPORT DM, NO. 4982, WHICH REACHED AUSCHWITZ A FEW DAYS LATER. TRAGICALLY, BOTH THOMAS AND HIS MOTHER WERE MURDERED IN THE GAS CHAMBERS IMMEDIATELY UPON THEIR ARRIVAL. HIS FATHER IS BELIEVED TO HAVE SURVIVED. AT THE TIME, THOMAS WAS ONLY SEVEN YEARS OLD.

MAY HIS MEMORY BE A BLESSING.

09/08/2026

ZSUZSA BERKOVITZ WAS BORN IN 1941 IN MEZŐKÖVESD, HUNGARY. SHE WAS OF JEWISH DESCENT, THE DAUGHTER OF ILONA AND IMRE. MEZŐKÖVESD HAD A POPULATION EXCEEDING 21,000, WITH ONLY 862 INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFYING AS JEWISH. ZSUZSA AND HER FAMILY WERE WELL ASSIMILATED INTO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY.

IN 1944, THE N***S INVADED HUNGARY, LEADING TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF DEPORTATIONS TO DEATH CAMPS, PRIMARILY AUSCHWITZ. IN JUNE OF 1944, ZSUZSA AND HER PARENTS WERE AMONG THOSE DEPORTED TO AUSCHWITZ, WHERE NONE OF THEM SURVIVED. TRAGICALLY, ZSUZSA WAS KILLED IN THE GAS CHAMBERS AT THE TENDER AGE OF THREE. MAY HER MEMORY BE A BLESSING.

REMEMBER ZSUZSA BERKOVITZ.

09/08/2026

JAANTJE JOHANNA "HANNIE" SCHAFT WAS A DUTCH RESISTANCE FIGHTER BORN ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1920. SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF AAFJE AND PIETER AND WAS NOT OF JEWISH DESCENT. AT THE AGE OF SEVEN, SHE EXPERIENCED THE LOSS OF HER SISTER.

ALTHOUGH SHE WAS RAISED AS A SHY, STUDIOUS, AND OVERPROTECTED CHILD, SHE HELD STRONG ANTI-FASCIST BELIEFS AND QUICKLY BECAME INVOLVED IN THE RESISTANCE MOVEMENT FOLLOWING GERMANY'S OCCUPATION OF THE NETHERLANDS IN 1940.

IN 1941, SCHAFT BECAME THE THIRD FEMALE MEMBER OF THE COMMUNIST COUNCIL OF RESISTANCE CELL IN HAARLEM, ONE OF THE EARLIEST MILITANT RESISTANCE GROUPS IN THE NETHERLANDS. SHE BEGAN HIDING JEWS FROM THE N***S IN HER PARENTS' HOME, RAISING FUNDS FOR THE RESISTANCE, FORGING DOCUMENTS, TRANSPORTING WEAPONS, AND GATHERING INTELLIGENCE.

AS TIME PASSED, SCHAFT'S ACTIONS BECAME INCREASINGLY RADICAL. AT THE YOUNG AGE OF TWENTY-ONE, SHE LEARNED TO HANDLE WEAPONS AND BEGAN ASSASSINATING GERMAN N**I OFFICERS AND DUTCH COLLABORATORS.

SCHAFT QUICKLY GAINED NOTORIETY FOR HER COURAGE AND PRECISION, EARNING THE TITLE OF THE "GIRL WITH THE RED HAIR," WHICH PLACED HER ON THE N**I'S MOST-WANTED LIST. IMPORTANTLY, SHE SOUGHT TO AVOID ACTIONS THAT WOULD RESULT IN THE LOSS OF INNOCENT LIVES, STATING, "WE ARE NOT LIKE THE N***S...WE OF THE RESISTANCE DO NOT KILL CHILDREN."

AFTER A CLOSE CALL IN 1944, SCHAFT DYED HER HAIR BLACK AND CONTINUED HER WORK AS AN UNDERCOVER ASSASSIN. SHE WAS ULTIMATELY CAPTURED ON MARCH 21, 1945, WHILE DISTRIBUTING AN ILLEGAL COMMUNIST NEWSPAPER.

TRAGICALLY, SHE WAS EXECUTED ON APRIL 17. DURING HER EX*****ON, SCHAFT WAS INITIALLY ONLY WOUNDED BY A GUNSHOT FROM AN OFFICER. IN A FINAL ACT OF DEFIANCE, SHE REPORTEDLY REPLIED, "I SHOOT BETTER!" BEFORE BEING EXECUTED AT THE AGE OF JUST TWENTY-FOUR.

MAY HER BRAVERY BE REMEMBERED.

REMEMBER JAANTJE JOHANNA SCHAFT.

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