Holocaust Survivor Shares Her Story of Courage With Members of The Legacy at Willow Bend

Sept. 4, 2012 - PRLog -- When Bob Weinfeld moved to The Legacy at Willow Bend in April 2008 with his wife Jean, he learned that there were a handful of Holocaust survivors among his fellow members of the community. This sparked an idea that would “marinate” for four years – a Holocaust Survivor Series that would provide a forum for their stories of struggle, courage and bravery. In August 2012, Weinfeld asked Sara Hannah Rigler, 83-year-old member of The Legacy, to kick off the series as the first speaker. Last week, more than 70 members and guests filled the community’s dining room to hear her story.

“All Holocaust survivors have vivid and unbelievable stories,” said Weinfeld. “Sara Hannah’s story is no different, and we are fortunate that she is here and willing to share it with us. The way she persevered through one of the most horrific times in our world’s history is a story I will never forget.”

Rigler, born in 1928 in Lithuania, lived a privileged life as a young girl. Her mother was a college graduate, her father was a successful businessman, and she had a beautiful older sister named Hannah.
   
“I was a wild kid,” said Rigler. “I did gymnastics, rode my bike around town and played in puddles. I think my mother wanted a boy, so that is what I tried to be. I always excelled in school, though. My sister was the beauty of the family, and I was the smart go-getter.”
   
Her charmed life changed when the Russians invaded Lithuania in 1940. Shortly after the invasion, her father was imprisoned for six months on a false accusation that he had stolen leather goods. The war between Russia and Germany to control Lithuania started on Sunday, June 22, 1941, and by Thursday, the Germans had invaded the country. Her father was arrested again, shot and killed, and Rigler, along with her sister and mother, were moved to a ghetto. After a stint in the ghettos, they were taken to multiple concentration camps where they worked and struggled to survive. In December of 1944, they were told that they were to walk deeper into Germany in order to be “saved” from the Russians. This walk, known as “The Death March” is where Rigler became separated from her sister and mother and never saw them again.

A British prisoner of war by the name of Stan Wells, along with nine other British soldiers, saved Rigler’s life. She eventually made her way to America, and later had a career in nursing and eventually politics. Once she reached the United States, she took the name Hannah in honor of her sister. The book “10 British Prisoners-of-War Saved My Life” is the story of her incredible survival.  

“Hearing Sara Hannah’s story, I am struck by not only her strength and courage, but her spirit,” said Andrea Statman, director of development, The Legacy Senior Communities. “She mentioned the word ‘lucky’ many times throughout her talk, and I can’t help but believe that her spirit and mentality are the reasons she survived. On behalf of The Legacy at Willow Bend, I feel there is no greater privilege than to serve a woman, a survivor, in this stage of her life, who has seen such horror and also such triumph in her lifetime.”

The Holocaust Survivor Series will continue the last Wednesday of every other month. For further information or to set up an interview, call Page Stafford (214) 890-7912 ext. 26, or send an email to pstafford@fortepr.com.

The Legacy at Willow Bend, Plano’s first and only life care retirement community, is situated on a 28-acre site at Spring Creek Parkway between Preston Road and Ohio Drive. The Legacy at Willow Bend offers resort-style services and amenities for active, independent seniors, as well as all levels of health care services on-site. The community features 103 independent living apartment homes, 12 custom independent living villas, 40 assisted living apartment homes, 18 memory support suites, and 60 private skilled healthcare suites.

The Legacy at Willow Bend is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit retirement community owned by parent company, The Legacy Senior Communities, Inc. The Legacy at Willow Bend, the only Jewish-sponsored life care retirement community in Texas, is open to people of all faiths.  For information, call (972) 468-6208, or visit www.thelegacyWB.org.