GREEN TWP., Ohio — Sandy Kaltman holds up her necklace. It’s so small she can barely grasp it. Inside is a picture of her father. Kaltman wears it often.
Today, she’s wearing it to the cemetery.
The necklace was her mom’s. It was a gift from her dad, but it was also a promise.
"Instead of going to high school, my mother became a slave laborer for the Nazis," Kaltman said.
Roma and Sam Kaltman met in the courtyard of a Polish ghetto. Forced out of their homes when the Nazis invaded their country, the two shared books and bonded over their love of reading.
They spent years there in dangerous conditions, and Roma’s mother died. To hear Sandy Kaltman tell it, she died of a broken heart. She said that’s because most of her family was killed during the Holocaust.
"Their lives just changed forever,” Sandy said.
The necklace was a promise from her dad to her mom. After the Holocaust, he would find her.
And he did.
Sandy’s parents survived Auschwitz and her mom escaped a so-called “death march.” The two eventually married in Germany before moving to America and settling in Cincinnati. That’s where they're buried today.
In a cemetery in Green Township, Kaltman is holding her mom’s necklace.
It’s shaped like a book.
"My parents’ story has shaped my world,” Sandy said.
It’s part of the reason she contributed to a new effort to honor at least 500 Holocaust survivors buried in Cincinnati. This weekend is Holocaust Remembrance Day, and members of Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati wanted to do something special.
"There was nothing like this in the world,” said Ray Warren, former president of the cemetery group, which manages 25 cemeteries in the area.
The project to honor Holocaust survivors started four years ago. The idea was to commemorate these survivors in the same way we honor military veterans. Warren’s colleagues designed a medallion with barbed wire, the Star of David and the word "remember."
These medallions are free for families of survivors in Cincinnati, and cemetery officials will place them on a marker next to the survivor’s grave. It’s a way to remember their journey. And a way to continue to fight racism and discrimination.
"These are difficult times for Jewish people around the world,” Sandy Kaltman said.
Antisemitic incidents have jumped almost 400% since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to the anti-defamation league.
Kaltman hopes preserving stories like her parents can help.
"It's part of my faith,” she said. “And it's also part of the legacy I see growing up in a family of Holocaust survivors."
At her parent’s grave, Sandy wiped off grass clippings. She placed a rock on top of their headstone, and she prayed. She prays as a way to remember.
She prays for others to remember, too.
"If my parents were here, that's what they would say,” she said. “Don't forget."
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Holocaust Remembrance Day:
Mayerson JCC
8485 Ridge Ave, Cincinnati, OH
Sunday, May 5
2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
This event will commemorate the 6 million Jewish Holocaust victims. The cemetery group will have prototype markers there. If you or someone you know would like one, contact Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati. Email info@jcemcin.org or call 513-961-0178.
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