The most important holiday.

I just finished reading a wonderful book by Irene Nemirovsky, Dimanche (short stories),  who as child was taken by her parents to live in Paris right after the Soviet Revolution. She grew up to become a renown novelist in Paris. Even though Irene converted to Catholicism she still was captured by Nazis and tragically died in Auschwitz in 1942 at age of 39.

Few of her journals, that she wrote during WWII were kept by her oldest daughter for over 50 years, and finally in 2004 she published them. The book became a bestseller in France and in 2008 it was translated in 38 languages.

This book describes people’s feelings: fears, uncertainty, love, and empathy toward each ether.  It describes all the best and the worst that human race has to offer during the war, and I could not help but think about May 9th – Victory Day!!!

I remember growing up it was the most important holiday for every generation back in the USSR. Every year on this day my dad would take my brother and I to pay our respect by visiting the Memorial to Unknown Soldier.

I would never forget grey haired men and women who would come to see each other on this day, who would laugh and cry remembering and telling us their stories of heroism and survival.

WWII took the lives of about 70 million people. Every family in USSR and Europe was touched by this horrible tragedy. Every one of us still  has personal connection with this war. Our grandparents, fathers, mothers, us, our kids and our grandkids will never and should never forget the day the war was over- Victory Day !!!