Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day: Honoring the victims and their stories
- Pat Black-Gould
- Apr 19
- 2 min read
When I searched for an illustrator for my children’s book about a hidden child of the Holocaust, I was fortunate to find Katya Royz. A native of Siberia, Katya moved to Israel in 2017. The topic of the Holocaust is close to her heart. Her grandfather, Efim Royz, was a Holocaust survivor. He was three years old when he, his parents, and eight siblings fled from a small village in Ukraine to Siberia to escape the Nazis. I was so touched by the story that I asked Katya if he would be willing to share his experience so I could include it in the Afterword of my book, The Crystal Beds, Lalka’s Journey. He agreed. The story is written below:
"When the war began, I was a little over three years old. Our family fled from the Jewish town of Derazhnya, and the Nazis followed us, literally 30 kilometers behind us. We took refuge in the woods or asked for asylum from local residents, and more often than not, we were refused.
My parents explained to these people that they still had two houses in Derazhnya, but they left it all because they decided to save all of us children. In response, my parents heard, “Who made you embark on such a difficult path? You should have stayed there.” But my parents knew that when the Nazis came, they would destroy everyone, which later happened to our numerous relatives and friends. Fascist Germany set itself the goal of exterminating the Jews of Europe and the Soviet Union. It was an unprecedented phenomenon until now—the destruction of people just for their ethnicity and religious beliefs.
Our family are the survivors of the Holocaust. None of us, my parents and eight brothers and sisters, ever returned to Derazhnya, and we knew perfectly well that all the Jews who remained there were killed.*
The Crystal Beads is a story about a rescued girl, written by Pat Black-Gould. The Holocaust should never be forgotten, and this story once again reminds us of these events. She talks about the sacrifices made and the hardships endured by parents in order to save their children. This is a story about kindness, mercy, and courage. She raises many important questions that need to be remembered so that this will never happen again.Efim Royz, Katya Royz’s grandfather--Honored Worker of Culture, Musician--Honorary Citizen of the town of Mezhdurechensk, Siberia
A few weeks ago, Katya told me her grandfather had passed away. My deepest sympathies go out to Katya and her family. As Elie Wiesel said, “For the dead and the living, we must bear witness. We must not forget the past so that it does not become our future.”
May the voices of Holocaust Victims remind us of our duty: to remember, to educate, and to stand against hatred.
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