Once We Were Eight

On August 31, 1939, Raymond Fishler went to sleep at about midnight dreaming of the wonderful future he envisioned for himself. Less than five hours later he was awakened from his peaceful slumber by the start of World War II. After living through a brutal German occupation, his family made a futile attempt to go into hiding to avoid mass liquidation or being transported to the living hell of a concentration camp. Raymond’s mother made him promise to go to America and tell the world what was done to them. He promised he would, and to this day Raymond has told the story of his life’s journey in classrooms and lecture halls and also on the March of the Living, an annual education program for youth, and now adults, who travel to Poland to learn about Jewish life there before and during World War II. This trip then continues on to Israel where people experience and witness the achievements of the people that Hitler planned to extinguish. This book continues Raymond’s journey and mission. A portion of all sales of Once We Were Eight will be donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.