298: sharing hope in the face of adversity

Well, it seems as if our message is being heard, RTBH readers. I noticed today that MSNBC has started carrying a segment entitled 'Wonderful World' on its website, which focuses on happy news! (It doesn't look as if they post something every day ... but perhaps they don't have enough staff on it? Ha ha...) Anyway, today I'm posting one of their recent articles, about two women in Warsaw, Poland. They are in their seventies and have been close for decades, living as sisters - though they are in fact a Holocaust survivor and her rescuer. Janina Pietrasiak (then 8 years old) and her mother were taken in by Maria Lopuszanska and her family, to hide them from Nazi persecutors. Janina's mother died shortly afterwards and Janina was then baptised and treated as a sister to Maria. She survived. Later, she was offered refuge in the US but decided to stay with her adoptive family in Poland. Janina and Maria care for each other to this day, and Maria's role as a rescuer has been recognized by Jewish organizations in both the US and Israel. It's a remarkable example of how two people can sustain each other, even in the face of many hardships. Love may not quite conquer all, but it goes a very long way...