Dora Zipper What a great experience today photographing Holocaust Survivor Dora Zipper. This is a woman who is so deeply grateful for her life, each and every day. After spending 18 months hidden in a pig pen covered with hay in a small farm in Poland, wearing the same item of clothing the entire time, she treasures every glass of water she drinks and every breath she takes. Born on November 8, 1927, the same year my mother was born, Dora was anxious to share her story, so that future generations will remember the Holocaust. She started by telling me that her life was good before the war started, living with her family in her hometown of Zloczuw, Poland. Her father was a successful businessman. She was a happy girl. Then, two days after the war began, there was a horrible Pogrom, a massacre organized by the Nazis, and many men in her hometown were marched into a grave and murdered. Fortunately, her father was able to hide in a closet and survived. For the next several years following this tragedy, the family would hide in the area Dora had grown up in. Sometimes they were able to return to their home for short times. Then, after the Nazis declared the zone Juden Frei, free of Jews, the family would have to go into seclusion for the last 18 months of the war. Covered with straw and hay, below where the pigs lived in a barn, they would ultimately escape Hitler’s wrath of death. They were fed once every evening, a meager ration of a couple pieces of potato, and several beans floating in a bit of soup. Dora recalls lice crawling on them like “soldiers”. One close call they had when the SS came to the farm looking for Jews. Fortunately, their German Shepard, which they had given to the farmer hiding them, started barking at the dog the Nazis had with them, so they didn’t search the barn area. Dora broke into tears as she recalled this time of her life. I asked her if she was crying due to her memory of the past, or her gratefulness for her freedom now, and she declared it was “both”. They lived day to day embracing hope while at the same time dealing with their misery. Today, at 91 years old, she is content with who she is and the life she has, despite the many tragedies and challenges she has experienced. Recently, after the loss of her remaining daughter, she left behind a very successful life running a beauty parlor in her 10-room home in New Jersey, in order to be close to her grandchildren here in California. I was so fortunate to meet her one of her precious granddaughters, Sheindelah, who was named after Dora’s cousin who perished in the war. When I asked Dora what she wanted to say to people who saw her portrait, she emphatically expressed how important it is that we are accepting and loving of one another, saying we are all human beings. Dora had difficulty expressing verbally how thankful she is for her freedom and things as simple as being able to drink a glass of water. I have yet to meet anyone more grateful for being alive. G-d Bless you Dora.