I.B. Singer's 'A Tale of Two Sisters' recounts Holocaust family tragedy

A reader recounts their powerful encounter with Isaac Bashevis Singer's 'Collected Short Stories,' especially a haunting section from 'A Tale of Two Sisters.' This story illustrates the devastating experiences of a Jewish family during World War II: the father dies from a German bomb, an older brother is shot by Nazis in Bedzin, a younger brother is drafted into the Polish army and perishes, the mother suffers from starvation and kidney disease in the Warsaw ghetto, and a sister named Ytta goes missing. Thankfully, another sister, Dora, is saved by her French teacher, Elzbieta Dolanska, who hid her in a cellar for two years, sacrificing her own resources. Dolanska ultimately lost her life during the Polish uprising. The excerpt concludes with a chilling reflection: ‘In essence, we were all walking on graves...'