The only other time Dr. Rackoff had been in Poland was in 1990 when she went there to honor her ancestors, visit memorial sites and learn more about the Holocaust. It was important to her that an Israeli organization, such as One Heart, sponsored her recent missions to Poland and Ukraine.
“Even though I had volunteered in different countries before, I had a particular connection to Poland and Ukraine because my great-grandparents came from there in the late 1800s,” says Dr. Rackoff.
“It was very important for me personally to go with an Israeli group because of the history of the Holocaust there,” she adds.
It’s a connection she shares with other Jewish doctors with ancestors who experienced the atrocities of the Holocaust.
“That’s where the origin of our families come from,” says Dr. Rackoff. “So to show up, [and be] helping rather than being the victim is just very meaningful.”
In the Moment
Reflecting on the missions to Poland and Ukraine, Dr. Rackoff says her experience was about meeting the moment when thousands of displaced people needed help from others who cared.
“There was this general feeling of we’re really here to do the right thing in a very historic time,” she says.
Catherine Kolonko is a medical writer based in Oregon.
