She volunteered to work in the Westerbork transit camp to serve others imprisoned and to remain close to her family. All of them were sent to German occupied Poland where they died in Auschwitz. She maintained an unwavering sense of the beauty of the created world even as she was surrounded by horror, cruelty and death. In the transit camp she wrote, "The sky is full of birds, the purple lupins stand up so regally and peacefully, two little old women have sat down for a chat, the sun is shining on my face – and right before our eyes, mass murder... The whole thing is simply beyond comprehension."
Though our Covid 19 experience pales by comparison, my expectations are reduced and there are many unexpected gifts to receive with gratitude.