Meet Yuri

Yuri is celebrating his 85th birthday today. In the same apartment where he was born. But he is angry.
There’s a woman who is claiming the rights to his own apartment.

And she’s the granddaughter of the Nazi officer who sent Yuri’s grandfather to his death - FROM THIS SAME APARTMENT.

Are you still following? Let’s bring you back to the beginning…

Yuri was only 4 years old when his mother escaped with him and his two siblings to Kazakhstan - to flee from the Nazis.

Sadly she had to leave Yuri’s grandfather behind.

When the war was finally over, they returned to their apartment in Rostov.

But Yuri’s grandfather wasn’t there.

They eventually found out that their neighbor, a woman they had known, befriended a gestapo officer and told him about the “old Jew” living on the 5th floor.

They sent Yuri’s grandfather to his death.

This woman had a child with the Nazi officer, and he had a daughter.

That daughter is claiming partial rights to his communal apartment.

“I don’t care for this apartment.” Yuri told me.
“I’m just fighting for my grandfathers memory. I know he wouldn’t want this woman to inherit any part of it.”

I asked Yuri to do a mitzvah for his grandfather Baruch, for his soul.

Together we put on Tefilin, just like his grandfather used to do in the same room, 80 years ago.

May his memory be a blessing.