IF YOU HEARD WHAT TANYA HEARD

TANYA SHARES THE STORY OF HER GRANDMOTHER, LUBA SIMKOVICIUS, WHO WAS BORN IN 1918 TO A LOVING, MODERN ORTHODOX FAMILY IN UKMERGE, LITHUANIA. LUBA’S FATHER PLACED GREAT VALUE ON EDUCATION FOR BOTH LUBA AND HER YOUNGER BROTHER. WITH A PULSE ON WHAT WAS HAPPENING ACROSS EUROPE, AND THE ALARMING RISE IN ANTISEMITISM, LUBA’S PARENTS MADE THE DIFFICULT DECISION TO IMMIGRATE TO CALI, COLOMBIA, NARROWLY ESCAPING NAZI PERSECUTION. JUST A FEW YEARS LATER, EVERY JEW IN THEIR TOWN WAS SENT TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS. THE ONLY SURVIVING SIMKOVICIUS’S TODAY FROM UKMERGE ARE TANYA’S FAMILY. LUBA, HER PARENTS, AND HER BROTHER QUICKLY SETTLED IN CALI, LEARNING SPANISH AND ENGLISH, AND LUBA’S PARENTS WORKED HARD TO NOT ONLY CREATE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE FOR THEIR FAMILY, BUT ESTABLISH A THRIVING JEWISH COMMUNITY IN CALI THAT CONTINUES TO FLOURISH TODAY, WITH THE INFLUENCE OF LUBA’S FAMILY WOVEN THROUGHOUT. LUBA MET HER HUSBAND, ADOLFO, ALSO A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, IN CALI, COLOMBIA, AND THEY BUILT A BEAUTIFUL LIFE AND A STRONG JEWISH FAMILY THAT CONTINUES TO UPHOLD THE TRADITIONS AND VALUES TODAY. TANYA CARRIES THE LEGACY OF HER HOLOCAUST SURVIVING FAMILY FORWARD THROUGH RAISING PROUD JEWISH CHILDREN, ADVOCATING AND FIGHTING AGAINST ANTISEMITISM, AND BEING A STRONG VOICE FOR JEWISH PRIDE AND RESILIENCE.

IF YOU HEARD WHAT TANYA HEARD, YOU WOULD NEVER FORGET.