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Holocaust orphan finds family, thanks to DNA tests
https://www.voanews.com/a/holocaust-orphan-now-has-cousins-thanks-to-dna-tests-/7695064.htmlHolocaust orphan finds family, thanks to DNA tests
July 13, 2024 3:00 AM
By Associated Press
Cousins Ann Meddin Hellman, left, and Shalom Korai walk, talk, and hold hands after meeting in person for the first time in North Charleston, South Carolina, July 10, 2024.
NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA —
Shalom Korai never knew his real name or his birthday. He was saved from the streets of a burning Warsaw neighborhood while he was a toddler during World War II, when the rest of his family was killed by Nazis in Poland.
He grew up and lived in Israel with no idea of his past. He never knew a hug from someone who shared his blood or his DNA — until Wednesday, when Korai walked off an airplane in the U.S. state of South Carolina and into the arms of Ann Meddin Hellman. Her grandfather was the brother of Korai's grandfather, making them second cousins.
It's a story that would have been impossible without modern DNA science and without a genetic test that Korai was given by a psychologist who studies children orphaned in the Holocaust.
Hellman's ancestors came to the United States while Korai's family stayed behind in Poland to run a family business. Decades later, they would be among the 6 million Jewish men, women and children systematically killed by the Germans in World War II.
[...]
July 13, 2024 3:00 AM
By Associated Press
Cousins Ann Meddin Hellman, left, and Shalom Korai walk, talk, and hold hands after meeting in person for the first time in North Charleston, South Carolina, July 10, 2024.
NORTH CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA —
Shalom Korai never knew his real name or his birthday. He was saved from the streets of a burning Warsaw neighborhood while he was a toddler during World War II, when the rest of his family was killed by Nazis in Poland.
He grew up and lived in Israel with no idea of his past. He never knew a hug from someone who shared his blood or his DNA — until Wednesday, when Korai walked off an airplane in the U.S. state of South Carolina and into the arms of Ann Meddin Hellman. Her grandfather was the brother of Korai's grandfather, making them second cousins.
It's a story that would have been impossible without modern DNA science and without a genetic test that Korai was given by a psychologist who studies children orphaned in the Holocaust.
Hellman's ancestors came to the United States while Korai's family stayed behind in Poland to run a family business. Decades later, they would be among the 6 million Jewish men, women and children systematically killed by the Germans in World War II.
[...]