I was born Szlamek Rzeznik in Poland in the mid 1930s. My big Jewish family affectionately called me Sammy. I was the youngest in the family and dearly loved by Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. I felt very special. My father was a good and honest man with an important job. He was a scribe and spent hours sitting with writing instrument in hand, painstakingly writing the Torah (the five books of Moses). I loved to play, chase chickens, and have tickle fights-the same things children all around the world love to do. My siblings told me scary stories, and my...