#197: Tisha B'av: Two Harrowing Letters - Two Powerful Testimonies

From History For The Curious by R Aubrey Hersh;Mena Reisner.

• Published: Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:04:05 +0100
• Duration: 54:16
• Audio: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/mkcij3hiywrmdenp/HC092_-_Ep_197_-_Holocaust_Part_3_Assembled_mixdown_1_6as18.mp3
• Page: https://rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com/e/197-two-harrowing-letters-two-powerful-testimonies/
• TorahApp: https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_history-curious?e=rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com%2F6e96d529-0202-35a5-8058-6b70014fb19e

Join our WhatsApp group for weekly exclusive content: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FEgoaCOQoyU2VX49SwA8Aw?s=cl&p=a&ilr=4   Be Courageous, be Honest, be a Jew. Those were the words with which a parent took leave of his son during the Holocaust.    However much we are aware of the terrible years that befell our People, the words and testimonies shake us and make us rethink Faith & Suffering   Mrs Zahava Ungar & Mr Yisrael Diamond are living proof to the tragedies and perseverance that took them through 5 years of torment. They are both heads of a families today which have continued the Yiddishkeit of pre-war generations. Their words need to be heard.  

Timestamps:

• [0:00:00] – Survivor vignette: sneaking out for water, sister taken
• [0:00:38] – Podcast introduction and dedication
• [0:01:50] – Framing the episode: from numbers to personal stories; link to Tisha B’Av
• [0:03:33] – Reading and discussion of the three Holocaust letters (to ~[0:07:30])
• [0:07:37] – Introduction to Mrs. Sahava Unger
• [0:08:17] – Early life, Nazi occupation, father taken to labor
• [0:10:28] – Ghetto, deportation to Auschwitz
• [0:13:47] – Birkenau, living conditions, selection, loss of sister
• [0:18:47] – Liberation, aunts in “Canada,” uncle in Sonderkommando, journey after the war
• ~[0:24:27]–[0:29:00] – Reflections on fear, hunger, cold; her later life and family
• [0:29:00] – Introduction to Mr. Yustral Diamond
• [0:29:23] – Leaving Antwerp; journey to Montpellier, south of France
• [0:31:08] – Round-up orders; warning and help from French gendarmerie chief
• [0:38:21] – Hiding in villages, resistance environment, daily terror
• [0:45:32] – Post-war: yeshiva, return to Antwerp, move to Golders Green, religious perseverance
• [0:48:07] – Introduction to Rav Yeshua Grunwald
• [0:49:57] – Excerpts from his writings; Holocaust suffering as “mizbeach” / Kodesh Kodashim
• [0:53:29] – His closing prayer for justice and redemption
• [0:54:17]–end – Host’s closing words and Tisha B’Av message