Nina Jacobs was born on April 5, 1942, in the Vilna Ghetto during the Holocaust. Shortly before her birth, the Nazis rounded up approximately 5,000 men in the ghetto, including her father, and executed them. Soon after, Nina’s mother discovered she was pregnant and, fearing for her child’s future, considered ending the pregnancy. Encouraged by her own mother, she chose instead to carry Nina to term and protect her at all costs.

For the first seventeen months of her life, Nina was hidden in a crawl space to escape Nazi persecution. She never met her biological father.

Through extraordinary courage and ingenuity, Nina’s maternal uncle—who had limited mobility in and out of the ghetto due to his work—arranged for her to be placed with a trusted Polish family. To ensure her safety, he smuggled her out under his coat. The family who took her in risked their lives to protect her. One member, Janek, became a father figure to Nina, caring for her as his own. Because she spoke only a few words of Yiddish as a toddler, which could expose her identity, the family took additional measures to protect her while she adapted to her surroundings.

Janek baptized her and gave her the name Janeka, reflecting their deep bond. Nina remained with this family until the age of four, when her biological mother returned to reclaim her. Having no memory of her mother, Nina struggled with the separation from the only family she had known.

After the war, Nina and her mother lived in a displaced persons camp in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1949, settling in Long Island, New York. Years later, Nina reconnected with her uncle and learned that he had been sending care packages to Janek. She continued this support and began corresponding with him. In his letters, Janek wrote that she was now helping to sustain him while he lived behind the Iron Curtain.

Nina later settled in Connecticut, where she built a life, married, and raised three sons.

Her story is one of survival, sacrifice, and the enduring power of human compassion. From the unimaginable circumstances of her birth to a life rooted in family and community, Nina’s journey stands as a testament to resilience and the profound impact of those who choose courage and kindness in the face of adversity.