Remembering the Past, Supporting the Present: Rivkah’s Story

December 18th, 2024 |HaTikva Dental

Rivkah is one of the many Holocaust survivors we treat at HaTikva Dental.

She’s 86 years old and immigrated to Israel from Kyiv, Ukraine, and is very grateful for the care she receives from us. She speaks highly of her doctor, Maher, calling him a very kind man, as well as describing our receptionist as wonderful.

Rivkah was only three years old when World War II broke out. Her family lived in the Vinnitsa region, where her father worked as an assistant train driver on the railway. When the war started, they were evacuated to Ordzhonikidze in Crimea.

She vividly remembers the evacuation, making friends along the way as a little girl. In Crimea, she has fond memories of the sweet apricots she tasted, which she says she will never forget. She also recalls the hunger they endured, eating nettle soup and gathering spoiled potatoes from fields just to have something to eat.

As German forces approached, her father found a horse, and they fled towards Ufa, eventually boarding a ship to Bashkiria. Rachel recalls that Bashkiria had never seen Jews before, and many refugees from different parts of Ukraine had come there to escape the bombing and persecution. She remembers the bombings during their journey to Bashkiria, but through it all, she survived and remains grateful to be alive.

Thank you for supporting the care of this woman and many others like her.