Dusia Kretchmer

SHANA TOVA TO EVERYONE!!!

I’m privileged to be asked to share with the young generation the recipes  that we kept  in my family for at least 3 generations. 

I was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, as a second generation of Holocaust survivors, thus not  being able to meet my Grandparents, baby brother, uncle, aunts, cousins as they were killed during the WWII. 

My life in Kaunas  was a happy one , as I excelled in studies (graduated with a Golden medal ), sports 

( Lithuanian swimming champion ), successfully graduated from the State University as a Chemical Engineer, got married to Yochanan Kretchmer, a Litvak, and had a daughter Tally. 

In 1972 we made Aliya to Israel were I studied Hebrew and I worked as a chemical engineer. 

Later I studied at Bar Ilan university and became a chemistry and mathematics teacher. 

In Israel two our sons Rafi and Ido were born. 

All my children served in the IDF and now my twin grandchildren Omer and Noya are serving in the army – Omer in the Logistics unit in the North and Noya in a combat unit .  

After a successful Beret quest of 23 km, Noya  completed   the Combat nurse course  and is stationed in the South.

I was always very active in the community – taking care of the elderly, lecturing about relations between the parents and children, helping the Olim to get absorbed in the community. 

For the last 6 years I’m  involved in the Holocaust memory preservation. 

I’m a member of Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel and  I have organized many events  about Jewish history, holidays, traditions. 

I’m lecturing at schools, Yad Vashem museum in Jerusalem, writing posts about my life as Second generation, my feelings  about growing up without a big and loving family, the enormous loss and void that we were left with.  

As a member of the Association, I initiated a project “Embrace the community“  with the students of a High school, that study about the history of Lithuanian Jews and their tragedy. The students participate at the Yom Ha Shoa ceremony at the Memorial of Lithuanian Jews at the cemetery . 

Last year the 75- th anniversary of liquidation of Kovno Ghetto was commemorated in Kaunas, Lithuania. 

My dream was to visit the Ceremony  and  listen to  the Israel Anthem performed on the grounds of the burnt and destroyed Ghetto. 

With the Mayor of the Kiryat Ono   and the local Music school I organized  a visit for  the Kiryat Ono Youth Orchestra in  Lithuania to attend   the Ceremony  in Ghetto  as part of the International Music project  “Shalom, Lithuania“. 

In  my speech at the ceremony I pointed out, that 75 years ago black flames of fire rose into the sky from the burning Ghetto  and now  the sounds of Hatikva are rising high into the sky as a  proof, that Am Israel Hai. 

Lately I retired and enjoy  spending time  the kitchen trying  to recover and to recreate the old Litvak recipes, like Teiglach, Imberlach, Tcholent, Flaumentzimes, honey cakes, kneidlach, gefilte fish, kugel and more. 

I hope you’ll try some of my recipes and enjoy them as much as my family and friends do. 

Shana tova u metuka 

Dusia Lan Kretchmer 

ערה”ש תשפ”א