Born: Kolbuszowa, Poland March 4, 1917 Rachel was the eighth
child born to Hasidic Jewish parents living in Kolbuszowa. She
spoke English, Hebrew and German in addition to Polish and
Yiddish. At school, Rachel's beautiful singing voice earned her
leading roles in plays even though Jewish children were rarely
given parts. Rachel and her brother Naftali were active in a
Zionist scout organization called Ha-No'ar ha-Zioni. 1933-39: In
1933 Rachel started writing weekly postcards to her brother in
Palestine. When the cards arrived, immigrants from Kolbuszowa
would come to hear about their families and friends. In August
1939 Rachel's boyfriend obtained a visa to emigrate to America,
and after an engagement ceremony, Rachel parted from her new
fiance. A week later, Germany invaded Poland. Rachel could not
join her fiance, and no more postcards reached Palestine.
1940-42: The Germans established a Jewish ghetto in Kolbuszowa
in 1941. Rachel was fortunate to find work as a secretary for a
German ghetto official, but