Jerry Elman was born in 1954 in Syracuse, NY. He has lived in the Rochester, NY area for about 50 years. Both his parents were Holocaust survivors. He is a first-generation American. Children of Holocaust survivors have been referred to as second-generation survivors. The emotional impact on the parents carried over to their children. The Holocaust was never discussed. Jerry, like other second-generation survivors, lived most of his life not knowing his parents’ stories or his European roots and family. He did not understand his own emotional issues as he grew up.

His father passed away in 1989, his mother in 2004. Jerry retired in 2021. The desire to know his parent’s story kept nagging at him. At age sixty-seven, he began searching files and documents his parents left behind. He started his research effort. Every piece of information led to other information. He connected with resources at the US Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem in Israel, YIVO, JewishGen, the USC Shoah Project and others.

Jerry successfully found all the information that became the basis for this book. This is his first book as an author. It is a work of love and closure to questions never answered most of his life. Writing this book was a cathartic experience for Jerry.