From hell to redemption

Boris Kacel enjoyed a carefree life as a youngster living with his family in a peaceful middle-class neighborhood in Riga, Latvia. All of that changed in 1941 when the German troops attacked the Soviet Union, crossing the border from the Baltic to the Ukraine. Initially, Kacel and his family were forced to move into a Jewish ghetto in the slum area of the city. Soon, however, he and his father were relocated to a different part of the ghetto while the rest of the family, including his mother, two younger sisters, and a younger brother, perished in an "evacuation." Kacel and his father were subsequently incarcerated at seven different concentration camps located in four different countries. Separating from his father, Kacel later made a daring escape from the Nazis and was eventually liberated by the U.S. Armed Forces. After living a few years in Germany, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1947, where he eventually reunited with his father and found a satisfying and productive life. After the end of the war, he had no desire to return to his homeland.