The idea was established a while ago: to go on a journey with mom to her past and discover the path she took after being released from the Nazi concentration camps up until she arrived in her hometown in Hungary. My mother, Sarah, took this journey alone in 1945. My intention was to try and fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle which had been lost due to the many years which had passed, not knowing names or exact locations, or even how she got where she did.

We chose the perfect timing, since the world was celebrating 60 years since the release from the camps at Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Stutthof. Sarah had been in both, and so we went to visit each camp. My brother Avi Cohen joined us on this fascinating journey. Our journey was more successful than we imagined it would be. We ended up finding evidence of my mom's birthplace and the major steps in her journey, as well as getting to meet many pleasant people along the way who assisted us in tracing her tracks. Even the weather was nice.

I'm pleased to present to you the true story of Sarah Zauber's journey; a journey of over 3,000 kilometers, spread over three European countries.

The journey

We landed in Warsaw around 10:00 in the evening. For mom, this was her first time in Poland since the war. Avi and I had already been to Poland, I came with a school delegation; Avi with the delegation from his bank (Israel Discount Bank). As we were exiting the airport, we began to search for our tour guide, Tomash Koverchik. We had never seen him and probably wouldn't recognize him, but I felt as if I'd known him for some time. After many phone calls and emails preparing for this trip, I felt as if I had developed a kinship with him. Tomash was waiting for us at the exit with a small sign. We walked towards the parking lot and approached his car. He drove us straight to the hotel in Warsaw. It was chilly outside and we were glad we had brought our coats. As we walked, we conversed and tried to get to know each other a little better. Avi, Sarah and I were curious why Tomash, who wasn't Jewish, was able to speak Hebrew so well. It turned out he also spoke Yiddish, among other languages, and that his life story was also an interesting one. We would discover many aspects of Tomash's background throughout our journey as well.

After our brief walk, we arrived at the Gordon hotel in Warsaw. It was a small hotel, unpretentious and plain. It was located not far from the airport, which was one of its few advantages. It was getting late and we were tired from the flight, so we decided to turn in for the night. We agreed to meet with Tomash in the lobby at 8:00 the next morning. Our plan was to head north towards Gdańsk.

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